Ian Ferguson went ‘berserk’ at Rangers teammates, Jorg Albertz says team need same now
Jorg Albertz says his Rangers teammates had a “brutal” wake up call following a 1998 loss to Celtic and hopes the same will happen now.
The former Light Blues midfielder compared Reo Hatate’s performance in Gers’ 3-0 Old Firm loss at Parkhead on Wednesday to that of Lubo Moravcik’s brace in a 5-1 thrashing in November 1998, and recalled the reaction in the dressing room.
The German said the team, which included current boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst “did not know what was about to hit them” after the defeat.
Writing in the Daily Record, Albertz says: “Because Ian Ferguson went berserk at every one of us. I can’t repeat some of what he said or what happened there.
“The gaffer, Dick Advocaat, didn’t say a word because Ian did the talking. He gave everyone a real doing.
“Arthur Numan, another new signing, had been to the World Cup with Holland in the summer of ‘98. They got to a semi-final.
“But I remember Ian saying to him: ‘You were at a World Cup? Well, that means [expletive] all to us!’
“At that moment, they knew what it was all about. I hope something similar happens after Wednesday night.”
Wake up call
Rangers went on to lift the title at the end of the 1998-99 season so it certainly seems like the dressing down they received from the Scottish midfielder Ferguson did its job.
And in truth, it might need something like that currently to shock van Bronckhorst’s squad back into form.
They have been disjointed and sloppy since the new year and have dropped seven points in that time.
But the capitulation at Parkhead was worse than most fans could have expected considering the team was unbeaten in the league under the Dutchman up until then.
The manager brought in a number of new signings during the transfer window who may not have been fully prepared for the atmosphere of the Old Firm derby, which is essentially a failing of the boss.
If he remembers the effect the Ferguson’s verbal explosion had in 1998 he probably will also be hoping one of the current squad steps up to fill that role.
Ferguson spent 12 years at Ibrox and now manages in Australia.
In other Rangers news, this star man is reportedly in the sights of a Premier League side.