Barry Ferguson in ‘wild manager U-turn’ as Rangers meeting emerges with 49ers
Rangers are finally set to hire a new permanent manager, and have confirmed that it will not be Barry Ferguson after the draw at Hibernian.
Ferguson has served as interim manager since Philippe Clement was dismissed earlier this season, and has overseen a mixed spell of results.
Rangers are aiming to hire a new manager who can turn their fortunes around after a dismal season, and the incoming new ownership group are close to making a decision.
Davide Ancelotti is a front-runner for the role, but this came after a U-turn saw Ferguson disregarded as a candidate when he could have kept his job.
Rangers changed decision over Ferguson future
Ferguson is a fan favourite at Ibrox as a former captain, and he did record a few impressive results as Rangers reached the Europa League quarter-finals in his reign.
The 47-year-old was mooted as an option to take the permanent job at Rangers after some of these results, but it has now been suggested that leading figures within the 49ers Enterprises had a change of mind over Ferguson.
Writing for the Daily Record on 19 May, Keith Jackson claims that as recently as a week ago, Ferguson considered himself a strong candidate for the role, after meeting with Kevin Thelwell and Gretar Steinsson.
| Stats | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| Ferguson | 6 | 5 | 4 |
“Barry Ferguson had already been spoken to as one of the last men standing,” Jackson wrote.
“On Thursday of last week, Ferguson held discussions with Thelwell and Steinsson, and he left that meeting with enough serious reason to believe he was a front runner for the post.
“But all that changed suddenly yesterday [Sunday] when Ferguson was called and told his services – and that of coaches Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor were no longer required.”
Rangers right to part ways with Ferguson
Although there were some strong results under Ferguson, there were some dire performances, and it took eight attempts for him to win a game at Ibrox.
The Scot simply did not accomplish enough to show that he should be given the role permanently, and his tactical acumen was questioned at times.
Although it was a difficult task to lift this Rangers side, and get a tune out of a squad that needs a rebuild, the Gers need to go in a different direction, and Ferguson was rightly ruled out as a candidate.
Had he stayed on and started next season badly, Rangers may have found themselves writing off another year with a managerial change midway through, and they cannot afford to get this next appointment wrong.