BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Luca Gasparotto is determined to follow in the footsteps of Barrie McKay by using a loan spell in the Championship to catapult himself into the plans of Rangers boss Mark Warburton.
The towering 20-year-old joined the Greenock side on a six-month deal following talks with Warburton, who is keen to see the Canadian youth internationalist benefit from regular first-team football.
He made his debut at Easter Road on Saturday and turned in an assured performance as Jim Duffy’s men suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat.
Gasparotto, who has previously excelled in loan spells with Stirling Albion and Airdrie, hopes that is a sign of things to come as he attempts to catch the eye of the Gers hierarchy.
And he believes McKay, who spent last season on loan at Raith Rovers, is the proof that he can force his way into the picture at Ibrox.
He said: “The manager [Warburton] wants me to get some more experience and prove that I can play at this level.
“Hopefully in the next few months I can do that and go back to Rangers and get into the first team.
“I know the manager is going to be keeping an eye on me and what I do here, so it’s important that I perform well for Morton.
“The Championship is much quicker in terms of the passing and movement. I wanted to challenge myself and that’s why I came here and I think I can only learn from playing week in week out for Morton.
“Barrie McKay was out the picture last season at Rangers but played well for Raith Rovers and now he is starting games under the new manager, so hopefully I can do something similar to him.”
