Hughes shocked by Barry Ferguson news at Rangers after recent talks
Barry Ferguson will not continue as Rangers manager.
The Gers legend steadied the ship after taking over from Philippe Clement on an interim basis in February at Ibrox, following some dismal performances.
However, he did not do enough to be handed the reins to complete his Ibrox revival after a mixed set of results in his time in charge.
The Light Blues announced on 18 May that Ferguson will leave his role with coaches Billy Dodds, Neil McCann and Allan McGregor.
Ferguson development at Rangers is shocking
Some observers thought that Ferguson had done enough to be given the role permanently by the 49ers this summer.
The Daily Record (20 May) has shared that former Celtic defender John Hughes was “shocked” by the news that broke out of Govan on Sunday.
The Hibernian ambassador had a heart-to-heart with Ferguson on the touchline after the 2-2 draw at Easter Road on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season.
Speaking about the departure, Hughes said: “I went to see Barry at the end of the game because I wanted to tell him how impressed I have been by him over these last few months.
“I told him I wanted him to take the job on and I wasn’t pulling his chain, I was deadly serious.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m a Hibs or a Celtic man or whatever. If I see right good football, I’m man enough to say it. And I’ve certainly seen that over the time that Barry was in there.”
Rangers ready for future without Ferguson
Although he could still stick around at Auchenhowie, with a coaching job mooted after the way he improved several players, like Cyriel Dessers and Nico Raskin, it will not be as the main man.
That is probably the right decision, as he did get some decent results, especially against Brendan Rodgers‘ side, but his squad failed to turn against lesser teams most of the time.
| Stats | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| Ferguson | 6 | 5 | 4 |
The Gers’ win in their final home match against Aberdeen (11 May) was their first in seven home matches and sums up Ferguson’s reign.
His side leaked goals as he failed to fix the issues that he inherited from the Belgian, and ultimately, he has paid the price.
Maybe he could become the manager once again in the future but he needs a significant amount of experience before that is a realistic possibility.
Davide Ancelotti and Steven Gerrard seem to be the standout candidates for the role and both have their benefits and drawbacks, but they are more experienced than Ferguson in terms of their coaching career to date.
The latter would be the safer bet as he has already won the title for the Bears, but it is a different Celtic side this time around.