Rangers insider disappointed at Barry Ferguson call to be made at Easter Road
Rangers conclude a hugely disappointing campaign with a trip to Hibernian on Saturday, aiming to at least bow out on a relative high.
The Gers had a deep run in the Europa League to keep the campaign alive heading into the final few months, but it was a disaster domestically speaking.
Celtic won the Scottish Premiership title with four games to spare, while also beating Rangers – contentiously – in the Scottish League Cup final.
The less said about the manner of the Scottish Cup exit to Queen’s Park, which effectively cost Philippe Clement his job at Ibrox, the better.
Barry Ferguson was brought in as Clement’s replacement and has had a mixed time of things results wise, albeit two wins from the past two games has lifted the mood slightly.
Ferguson to stick with same players against Hibernian
Ferguson is unsure whether he will be staying on at Ibrox beyond this weekend – in a managerial capacity, at least – and there has been reflected in his starting line-ups.
The Gers diehard has selected largely the same line-ups so far, opting against bedding in some younger players with nothing left to play for.
And in the view of brother Derek Ferguson, speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, that will be no different at Easter Road on 17 May – even if he would personally like to see changes.
| Barry Ferguson | |
| Games managed | 14 |
| Games won | 6 |
| Games lost | 4 |
| Games drawn | 4 |
“What’s happened is that he now has a relationship with these guys,” Ferguson said. “So he’ll go with the same again in terms of the starting line-up.
“The sad part is that we’ve not learned a great deal about others. Barry was desperate to get wins, but I’d have liked to have seen a few youngsters bedded in.
“I think he’ll go with the same old, even if they have let the club down for the most part. Barry works with them day in and day out and has built up a relationship with them.
“But that has been the only disappointment for me – that we haven’t seen one or two other youngsters come in.”
Rangers next manager search continues
Davide Ancelotti is the frontrunner to become next Rangers manager, even if the appointment is not as clear-cut as it previously looked.
Ferguson is said to be one of four British managers in contention for the job, meanwhile, along with Russell Martin, Sean Dyche and Gary O’Neil.
Ferguson cannot be blamed for selecting effectively his strongest Rangers XI for each game, but it has come at the expense of seeing some fringe players and youngsters given a chance.