How Benitez and Houllier are helping the next new crop of Rangers talent

Wed 14 March 2018 10:04, UK

Former Rangers defender and current youth coach Gregory Vignal has said that he wants to bring his experience as a youngster at Liverpool to help bring through the next crop of Ibrox stars.

Vignal was brought in by Mark Allen at Rangers in a bid to kickstart the Rangers academy, working with the Under-14s and Under-17s to try to bring through players that can make an impact in the first team.

He played for Rangers on loan from Liverpool in the 2004-05 season, making 30 appearances, and wishes that he could have made the move permanent.

Now he’s hoping that his schooling under Gerard Houlier and Rafa Benitez can help him make a permanent mark at Ibrox over 10 years later.

Talking in the Daily Record Vignal said, “I was 19 when I went to Liverpool from Montpellier. Once there I worked with Gerard Houllier, Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee – and I learned a lot from them.

“Even when Rafa Benitez came in for pre-season I was impressed by the way he used to manage things and his training was always good.

“I learned a lot from some top managers and that can help me in my own coaching career.”