Alan Brazil: Maybe Pedro Caixinha’s praise of Rangers defender Ross McCrorie got lost in translation?

PRESSURE can make or break young players.

That’s why managers tend to be guarded when talking about their hottest prospects.

It’s also why I was stunned by Pedro Caixinha’s lavish praise of Rangers hopeful Ross McCrorie.

Fair enough, the boy did well in his first senior appearance in midweek against Partick Thistle. And he held his own after being pitched into yesterday’s Old Firm clash.

But for Caixinha to suggest the 19-year-old can become: “One of the best centre-halves in history, not just for this club but for this country” after just 44 minutes of first-team action is way over the top.

Talk about a weight of expectation!

The teenager would have been nervous enough in the run up to yesterday’s Old Firm clash. He knew that Bruno Alves’ injury meant he may be thrown in at the deep end.

But to be lobbed in with 50,000 pairs of eyes staring in your direction is an even more terrifying prospect.

Young players don’t need that sort of extreme pressure.

To be fair to McCrorie’s manager – and I feel I have to try – perhaps the language barrier played a part.

Pedro has said a few strange things after all.

But maybe it’s a translation issue more than anything else.

The Portuguese are a passionate people, so they speak with a kind of conviction we’re not really used to in Scotland.

We’re more pragmatic, while they are more fiery.

I have wondered a few times whether Caixinha’s messages are coming across in the way he really intends them to.

After all, in McCrorie’s case, the Gers boss will have spoken from experience, regardless of how it was received.

It won’t just be the kid’s performance at Firhill that motivated Caixinha to open his mouth.

He will have been watching him in training, seeing him develop, taking note of his attitude.

Pedro must think McCrorie has a real chance. But it’s one thing telling the teenager that in private. Telling the world is quite another.

Having been asked about his young hopeful’s performance at Firhill, Caixinha could easily have used a straight bat.

All he had to say was that the kid has been working hard in training, is improving and was always going to get his chance this season.

He could even have said McCrorie could go far – if he keeps working hard.

Instead, the lad was talked about as if he’s Franco Baresi, Franz Beckenbauer and Richard Gough rolled into one!

I wouldn’t have fancied that at his age.

Yes, young players need to be challenged if they are going to successfully make the step up to senior level.

But the challenges need to be both carefully managed and genuinely manageable.

Publicly tipping a youngster as a Rangers and Scotland stalwart after less than one full half of first-team action is neither.

We’ve seen it before in Scotland – and not too long ago either.

Ryan Gauld was dubbed “Mini Messi” as a teenager at Dundee United and sold for millions to Sporting Lisbon.

The comparison has now been dropped.

In McCrorie’s case, the potential rewards are great if he stands up to the challenge of his billing, but it is still a risky strategy.

He may turn out to be the exception to the rule – and I genuinely hope he does. Yesterday’s display was a solid foundation.

But nine times out of 10, it’s best to treat kids with kid gloves.