Nils Koppen Aims to Enhance Rangers Academy with Club DNA and Former Players

Nils Koppen, in his new capacity as technical director, has committed to elevating the “level of Rangers DNA” within the academy by incorporating former Rangers players into the staff. The recruitment for the first-team and the club’s academy constitute two primary responsibilities of Koppen’s new position at Ibrox, following his previous role as director of football recruitment. Koppen expressed his belief that the foundational elements for recruitment are in place, but emphasized that despite “good work” in recent years, “we cannot be satisfied with the general output of the academy.” He informed club media, “We have to keep on creating room for our own academy players to make the step to the first team.” He added, “And we can do that by a better squad build-up for the first team to roster them into the first team to give them the opportunity to step up and be a part of that.” Koppen acknowledged a specific challenge, stating, “We’re facing a challenge with the B Team, where there’s not an ideal platform, so it’s on us to try to get the best challenges and opportunities for the boys in our club.” He further noted the club’s broader responsibility: “We’re a Scottish club, we have to educate players not only for our first team but also in general for the Scottish game, something we have to pay more attention to.” Regarding his plans for the academy, Koppen elaborated, “One of the things I’m looking at is maybe adding in some ex-professional Rangers players to increase that level of DNA to that level of detail, players that are in this building be a part of it that know what’s about, that’s something that will be key in the years to come.”