Barry Ferguson admits Rangers worry v Celtic after what he saw on Sky Sports
Barry Ferguson says the Rangers players must watch Celtic’s Scottish title joy and feed off it as pain in order to topple their bitter rivals next time around.
In his column in the Daily Record [17 May], the former Gers captain explained how it has to hurt, and that Philippe Clement’s squad must thrive off the pain and flip it into a positive.
Celtic confirmed a third straight league title in midweek after a 5-0 rout at Kilmarnock, 24 hours after Rangers had also scored five against Dundee to keep their faint hopes alive.
“I made myself sit through it all – the game, the celebrations,” claimed Ferguson.
“Why? Because this has to be the driving force now. If I was still pulling on a Rangers top then those scenes would be the motivation for me to do everything in my power to stop Celtic at the next possible opportunity.
“And that just so happens to be the Scottish Cup Final in eight days’ time. Brilliant. Is [Celtic’s form] a concern ahead of the final? You can look at it two ways. One – yes it’s a worry. Or two – we need to be at the top of our game and what an added motivation to beat them at their best.”
Rangers can secure a cup double this season
The fact the Old Firm reignites on 25 May at Hampden Park – a first Scottish Cup final between Rangers and Celtic for 22 years – provides Rangers with ample opportunity to secure a cup double and have the next-best thing to show for Clement’s first season in charge.
There are so many ‘what ifs’ at Ibrox – from injuries, to Europe, to Michael Beale – but ultimately it was last week’s derby defeat at Celtic Park which put the nails in the coffin.
And should that game have gone Rangers’ way, we could be talking about a treble and one of the club’s greatest seasons of all-time. Clement would be lauded on the blue half of Glasgow for life. That’s how sharp of a knife-edge the derby hinged on.
Ferguson’s concept that the Light Blues should use Celtic’s boastful title celebrations as fuel for next week is a strong one, and one that could perhaps be beneficial.
And the experience tells – Ferguson has five of each Scottish domestic medal. Time to whack the Celtic party on the box.
In other Rangers news, Simon Jordan has slammed an apparent lack of competition in Scotland.
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