Rangers staff worried by what Barry Ferguson did to players at Auchenhowie
Barry Ferguson masterminded an excellent victory over Jose Mourinho with his newly acquired Rangers side on Thursday night.
While only half the job is done, Rangers showed their mettle in the Europa League once again (6 March) on a night where it could have been even more than the 3-1 scoreline in Istanbul over Fenerbahce.
As the home crowd loudly voiced their discontent, the Light Blues supporters are on cloud nine and have quickly disposed of the “embarrassing” Ibrox defeat by Motherwell last Saturday (1 March) from their minds.
Ferguson worries Rangers staff on training ground
Rangers now have one massive foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where they will face Athletic Club or Roma should they complete the task.
It is imperative Gers do not switch off and judging by how Ferguson has drilled the squad at Auchenhowie, that is looking unlikely ahead of next Thursday’s second leg at Ibrox (13 March).
Keith Jackson has explained that sports science staff have been “worried” this week from the extent to which Ferguson and his coaching team have physically pushed the squad.
Training has reportedly been far more intense than anything under Philippe Clement, who was sent packing from Rangers and replaced by Ferguson at the end of last month.
As quoted by the Daily Record (7 March), Jackson said: “I know how hard they have worked (the coaching team).
“I know they had a training session on Tuesday where they really went through the players – I mean physically.
“I think the sports scientists were starting to get a bit worried because the computers haven’t been in this red zone, basically, the entire time Philippe Clement was there. Real high tempo, real high energy – and I thought you saw that in the performance [Thursday].”
Gers squad have full week to prepare for Ibrox
Neither Rangers nor Fenerbahce have a fixture in their respective domestic leagues this weekend, enabling both to continue their preparation solely for the second leg in six days’ time.
The Light Blues will be desperate to continue on the wave of their momentum, with even Mourinho admitting the 3-1 deficit is “good” for his Turkish outfit considering how wide-open his defence were in the first leg.
Cyriel Dessers equalled his total goals tally from last season with his early strike, and he and Rangers were desperately unlucky to see two more in the second half chalked off by VAR for narrow offsides.
| Date | Rangers – next five fixtures | Competition |
| 13 March | Fenerbahce (H) | Europa League – R16 second leg |
| 16 March | Celtic (A) | Scottish Premiership |
| 29 March | Dundee (A) | Scottish Premiership |
| 5 April | Hibernian (H) | Scottish Premiership |
| 12 April | Aberdeen (A) | Scottish Premiership |
Vaclav Cerny’s double allowed Gers the full ascendancy heading into next week, while the likes of Mohamed Diomande were superb going forward and the backline – while sat deep in the second half – defended for their lives at times to preserve the scoreline.
The ‘fun’ element of this season is entirely tied up in a prospective European run, and Rangers fans are certainly no stranger to winning out as underdogs on the continent.