Barry Ferguson admits Rangers rattled Celtic with aggressive press despite Old Firm defeat
Barry Ferguson believes Rangers “rattled” Celtic with their aggressive pressing in the Old Firm derby and Michael Beale should instil this gameplan in the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final.
The Gers fell to their second consecutive defeat to the Hoops since the New Year, with Ange Postecolgou’s side edging the crunch clash 3-2 at Celtic Park.
Despite coming away with no points for their efforts, Rangers were the better side for large portions of the encounter and had what looked like a perfectly reasonable opening goal by Alfredo Morelos disallowed.
Writing in his latest Daily Record column, Ferguson insisted that Beale’s game plan did work, despite the defeat, and that this was how Rangers would look to win the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic on 30 April.
“They were rattled by the way in which Rangers were pressing them and harassing them all over the pitch and it showed in the number of slack passes and sloppy mistakes that they made,” he wrote.
“Even when they managed to play their way through the initial press from Alfredo Morelos or Malik Tillman, they were pounced upon by Ryan Jack and Nicolas Raskin who worked their socks off for the team in the middle.
“Honestly, the game plan worked. It was exactly how I wanted to see Rangers set about their rivals, matching their energy levels and getting in a few faces.
“That’s the secret to winning these matches and it’s precisely the way Beale will go about his business on April 30 when the last silverware of the season goes on the line.”
Fine margins
The Rangers that travelled to Parkhead last weekend was a completely different-looking side to the one who crumbled away in the Viaplay Cup final back in February.
Right from the first whistle, the Gers were up in Celtic faces, pressing, harrying and not giving their opponents a moment of space on the ball.
As was mentioned on commentary numerous times by Ally McCoist and Andy Walker, Celtic’s passing was all over the place – and this is a credit to the sterling job of the Rangers press.
Despite Beale’s aggressive game plan working a treat in the early stages, the Gers couldn’t cap off the dominant start with the chances to match.
Although Morelos had his goal disallowed, the majority of the travelling team’s opportunities came from set pieces.
The likes of Malik Tillman and Todd Cantwell may have sacrificed some of their brilliance on the ball for more of a defensive shift in Saturday’s Old Firm.
If Beale can strike the right balance between the two, Rangers can still stop Celtic from winning an unbearable treble.
In other Rangers news, another Ibrox exit may be on the cards after a major revelation recently which could force the clubs to part ways with a senior player.