By Dan Carter

14th Nov, 2023 | 12:40pm

Barry Ferguson stunned by Ross McCausland after 'Dirty' Rangers display

Barry Ferguson has been blown away by Ross McCausland’s performance for Rangers against Livingston, with his attitude pointed out as a real positive.

The 20-year-old made his first start for the Light Blues in their 2-0 win at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Sunday (12 November) and was unfortunate to see his first goal for Philippe Clement’s side chalked off for a supposed foul in the build-up.

McCausland has been widely praised for his performance and while Ferguson was keen to praise the Northern Irish gem’s ability on the ball, he admitted that the aspect of his game that he loved was his attitude out of possession.

Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show (13 November, 10:21) he said: “From what I’ve seen of him so far this season, he looks to me like he’s a grounded young man and I thought yesterday he brought a lot of directness. He took the full-back on, on a number of occasions, took Rangers up the pitch.

“What I liked about him was he did the dirty side of the game well, coming back and helping Tavernier on a number of occasions. Overall, delighted to see him be given the opportunity.

“Forget he’s got real good ability, but I love his attitude. He’s got a real ethic about him as well. Normally wide players they drift in and out of games and they don’t want to get into that side of it tracking back, but he’s certainly showed that.”

Some talent

There is truly nothing better than seeing a young prospect step into your side’s first team and flourish and it is safe to say that McCausland has done exactly that as his performance against Livingston was superb, especially for a player making his first start.

While his dribbling ability and his direct running style will always receive the most plaudits, the 20-year-old’s work out of possession deserves plenty of praise, as Ferguson mentioned, he was more than willing to get stuck in with the dirty work.

Throughout the time he was on the pitch, McCausland entered eight duels and while he only won half of them, it demonstrated a willingness to put in the hard yards and put himself about in the clash that hasn’t always been the case from other young players in the first team.

Clement expects his players to give their all on the field and while that really should be an expectation rather than a surprise, McCausland has done exactly that. That attitude will serve him well as he finds his feet in the game and it appears Rangers supporters have a talent to be really excited about.

In other Rangers news, Todd Cantwell left in a rage on social media after an unseen moment against Livingston