It's an oft stated belief that there are no longer any promising youngsters coming through the ranks of Scottish football clubs. The word "promising" is the key point in that last sentence. I say that because young players are everywhere no matter where you watch your matches in the SPL.

In the past few weeks, while preparing for live games on ESPN, I've looked at squad lists choc-full of players in the early years of their football development. Part of that of course has to do with the much criticised SPL under-21 rule. In a matchday squad of eighteen players, three must be under-21.

The SPL's chief executive Neil Doncaster has been quick to acknowledge that there are differences of opinion amongst the clubs when it comes to this issue. While introduced with the best of intentions, it has had the effect of promoting young players before they're truly ready for the top flight. Many clubs use the three under-21 slots ostensibly as bench fillers.

Anyone covering Scottish football on a regular basis naturally wants to see a harvest of emerging players who have something to offer the SPL and ultimately the Scottish national team. The truth is, we often end up giving star billing to footballers who are at best ordinary.

However it surely stands to reason that with more players than ever being given a chance at a very young age, one or two might just represent the real thing. In recent weeks, I've seen impressive performances from Murray Davidson at St. Johnstone, David Wotherspoon at Hibs and Fraser Fyvie, who is tasked with dominating in midfield for Aberdeen at the age of 16.

Such players usually benefit from experience around them though. On Sunday, I watched Hamilton's 17-year-old Jordan Kirkpatrick grow in confidence once the seasoned Guillaume Beuezelin came on to supply him with ammunition against Celtic.

Maybe we simply have to show a bit of patience. In the mid-nineties, an entire generation was damaged by the effects of the Bosman ruling.

It became more convenient for clubs to sign quick-fix players from overseas for no transfer fee, than to invest in youth.

The likes of Fyvie and Kirkpatrick will get the chance to prove themselves in these financially constrained times. It's up to them to seize it.

It has been a long seven years in Perth without the SPL, but finally the St Johnstone fans will see a top-flight game against an Old Firm side this weekend at McDiarmid Park - and in large part they owe it to their manager Derek McInnes, and his predecessor Owen Coyle.

Coyle, who is now excelling at Burnley of course, arguably got the ball rolling for the Perthshire side. He even signed the current gaffer McInnes as a player-coach while he was looking to guide St Johnstone into the SPL. I wonder if Owen ever thought Derek would be the man to take his good work on to the next level?

In fact, McInnes’ impact at the Scottish club has been so huge that after Coyle travelled north earlier this year to assess his old club, he summated that the Saints would survive this year in the SPL - but only if they could hold onto McInnes.

Well there’s some good news for the St Johnstone fans ahead of the big clash with Rangers live on ESPN this weekend – McInnes has indeed put pen to paper and committed himself to the Saints until 2011.

That news will be a massive boost to all the St Johnstone players as well, as McInnes was a favourite while he pulled on the blue strip at McDiarmid Park and he remains a firm favourite as boss as well. The manager who learned his trade at Ibrox under the man in the away dugout this weekend – Walter Smith – has shown maturity in his first few top-flight games in charge.

Impressively, he’s also even stuck with his purist approach, trying to get his newly-promoted team to keep the ball on the deck. I took notice of that when the Saints played Celtic earlier this year at Parkhead. Okay they lost 5-2, but they used the ball nicely at times, and few teams score twice at Parkhead by the way!

The fact that St Johnstone also won their first SPL game of the season a couple of weeks ago against Hamilton will help their confidence – it will allow them to play with more freedom against Rangers.

The Ibrox side will not be expecting to head south on Saturday afternoon without all three points though, so McInnes’ men will have to be on top form.

Rangers got their campaign back on track two weeks ago against Celtic, even if it wasn’t the most convincing of displays. Prior to the Old Firm encounter the Gers had gone three SPL games in a row without a goal – a truly amazing stat. Kenny Miller was the man who broke down Celtic’s defence in that match (or perhaps the Celtic defence broke down themselves) and he will have re-enforcements on Saturday to help him up top.

Kris Boyd is a surprise inclusion in the squad after his swift return from the fractured eye-socket he suffered against Celtic. Kyle Lafferty (who came on for Boyd at Ibrox early on) will also be key in the coming weeks. Anyone watching Northern Ireland’s World Cup Qualifying campaign in recent months will have noticed how devastating Lafferty can be when he’s on-form.

The Rangers fans may have wondered what all the fuss was about when Kyle first arrived at Ibrox (as he took time to settle), but I’m pretty sure the striker will have a big role to play for Walter Smith this season.

Keep an eye out pre-match for our interview with McInnes by the way, as we’re going to try and re-unite him with old pal Ally McCoist prior to kick-off. Those two were great friends at Ibrox when they played together during the nine-in-a-row years, and I’m sure they will have some stories for us on Saturday.

The outcome of the first Old Firm game of the SPL season rarely reveals which direction the trophy will be heading in at the end of the campaign, but I think this game in particular will show us who is on pole for the race ahead.

It’s hardly been an ideal start to the season for either of the Glasgow rivals, but Tony Mowbray at least can plan for the game knowing his men will still be top of the table even if they lose at Ibrox, and mentally that is important. On the other hand, a defeat for Rangers would be disastrous for Walter Smith and the fans – slipping seven points behind even at this stage would mean an uphill battle the rest of the way. Quite simply, the Gers cannot afford to let that happen.

Rangers have not scored in three SPL games, and against Sevilla in the Champions League they were put to the sword in the second half, so it will be intriguing to see what kind of a response they will produce on Sunday.

One man who needs to step up his game is Pedro Mendes. The former Portsmouth man hit the ground running when he arrived in Scotland, scoring a cracker against Celtic in an emphatic win at Parkhead. There have been few glimpses of that kind of form in the past few weeks, and at Rugby Park he was sent off against Kilmarnock, leaving Rangers a man down for the majority of the game.

Mendes links play together brilliantly when he’s on form, but since Barry Ferguson departed he seems to have dropped deeper, taking the ball from the defence rather than receiving it where he is at his dangerous best – near the strikers. Ferguson was always the man who brought the ball out from the back and that allowed Mendes to take on a more forward position, but right now the Portuguese playmaker seems all too content to just receive and make simple passes in the middle of the park and inside his own half.

Perhaps this game will bring out the old Pedro Mendes – he seems to operate on a higher level on these occasions anyway. It’s the other games though that so often decide the league championship, and therefore Mendes must perform more consistently. If he is on-song, expect Rangers to create a lot of chances – he’s the key figure for the Gers in my opinion.

Celtic arrive at Ibrox off the back of a home draw with Rapid Vienna on Thursday night, and they too have yet to hit top form this season. A week ago live on ESPN they defeated St Mirren, but it wasn’t vintage Celtic, and Mowbray made it clear to me after the game that he expects better – an honest assessment from the manager.

I admire Mowbray for attempting to get his team to play slick, attacking football but his frustrations suggest his players aren’t executing his game-plan well enough. Mowbray is still experimenting with his side in defence as well, his centre-half pairings have changed in the past few weeks, and that is another area he’ll have to think long and hard about ahead of this game. Does he pick McManus and Caldwell (as he did midweek), or is it Loovens and McManus (as at St Mirren Park last week)? It’s something he’ll have to get right, and it’s a big call.

Both managers have tough decisions to make ahead of the game, but Walter Smith’s dilemma may be at the other end of the pitch. Up front his men have not been firing on all cylinders and Kris Boyd has not been sharp of late. The Rangers boss will need to decide who the best partner for Kenny Miller is on Sunday, assuming the Scotland international is fit enough to start.

Of course Smith has seen it all in these derby matches, and his experience (and the fact that Rangers are at home) perhaps gives the Gers a slight advantage. The fact that they’ve also had one day more rest than Celtic may also be a factor. Then again, who knows what will happen, it is after all the Old Firm, the derby of all derbies, and the outcome is almost impossible to predict.