 Laird attracted interest from Scottish side Rangers in 2003, with the SPL club enquiring about the player after his performances for Scotland in the Victory Shield.No move materialised, and he continued to progress through the youth system at Home Park, and was offered a professional contract at the age of 17 by manager Tony Pulis in February 2006.During his time as an apprentice, Laird lived in a hotel "just for apprentices" with Luke Summerfield, Reuben Reid, and Chris Zebroski, and described the experience as a "great way to grow into football".