PETER Houston hopes Fraser Aird and Luca Gasparotto savour every moment of being part of the Canada squad at Easter Road in a week's time - as long as they are on the receiving end of a Scottish victory. The Falkirk duo, both of whom left Canada as teenagers to progress through the youth ranks at Rangers, are in line to feature for Mike Findlay's side against the nation where they make their living with Gasparotto hoping to earn his first international cap. Houston, formerly part of the Scotland backroom staff, feels it can only benefit his players to play in such a fixture but he doesn't want them to enjoy themselves too much.
"I think it is nice for them because as a football club you want to see your players on international duty," said Houston. "It wasn’t really in my thoughts when I signed them but, fair play to them, they are in the team, playing well and it will be a great experience for them to play for their country against the nation where they play. I know they are excited about it and are really looking forward to it.
"It’s a great chance for them to go and play against guys playing in the English Premier League and Championship," he added. "It will be a good test for them. But don’t get me wrong - I hope Scotland beat them! I want Scotland to win every game they play, I’ve got no qualms about that."
Aird, born in Canada to two Scottish parents, represented Scotland at Under-17 and Under-19 level, and Houston feels that Rangers' loss is Falkirk's gain. He has indicated that he is keen to keep him around when his contract expires this summer.
"Fraser has bags of pace and actually has good ability," said Houston. "I was fortunate enough to get him in, he had been playing in MLS with Vancouver - even after being advised not to, I believe - as he wanted to have a go over there.
"Sometimes at big clubs like Rangers, younger players don’t get the opportunities. Mark Warburton didn’t feel he would enhance Rangers’ team - so that is lucky for me. I tell you what, I’ll be offering Fraser Aird a contract this summer. Whether he has something better, we’ll see. Both boys were released and let go, but they are good enough to play - certainly - at this level, and still young enough to kick on and play at that higher level again once they have experience of first-team football."
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