Barry Ferguson hits back at what he's seen about Derek McInnes at Rangers - 'hold on a minute'

Derek McInnes will be as aware as anyone of the demands required to be Rangers manager.

McInnes is a boyhood Rangers fans, who became a Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup winner as a player with the Gers.

So, he is well versed in the expectation from the Ibrox crowd to deliver success to Rangers.

Those expectations have been hammered home during a week in which Rangers have come under fire for a 2-2 draw at Dundee.

It ended a run of seven straight wins in all competitions, and Celtic's consequent 7-1 battering of Hearts meant the gap at the top of the table stretched to seven points.

But former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson has hit back at the criticism levelled at McInnes and his players.

What has Barry Ferguson said about Rangers and Derek McInnes?

There are not many clubs in the world where you can win seven straight games, draw the eighth, and face a barrage of criticism.

But Rangers is no ordinary club, there is an expectation to win, win, and then win again.

In recent years, Gers supporters have had too many false dawns, where managers get the team on a decent run, then the wheels fall off.

It has happened far too often, particularly since the end of the Steven Gerrard era at Ibrox.

Ferguson, a former interim manager at Rangers, says he can understand why fans might be feeling anxious given the blip.

But he urged fans and critics to take a breath, insisting Rangers are in a good spot overall.

Writing in the Daily Record, Ferguson opined: "But, taking that to one side for the moment, I still think some of the criticism of the manager and his players has been over the top in the last few days.

"I get the reasons behind it. I completely understand why there are Rangers fans out there who become anxious at the first sign of a blip because they’ve seen way too many of them over the last 15 years.

"More often than not over that time, those blips have quickly developed into trends. And before you know it, another league title has slipped away to the other side of the city.

"So, yes. I understand why the support is almost permanently on such a high state of alarm.

"Seeing Celtic hammer seven past Hearts the following day to open up a four point gap at the top of the table, will have made some supporters think to themselves, ‘Here we go all over again. Same old story,’.

"But hold on a minute guys. Let’s take a deep breath and cut the manager and his players a bit of slack. Because the big picture is nowhere near as bleak as some people would have you believe."

It's all about the reaction for Rangers

What's done is done, and now the time is right to start looking forward rather than what has gone.

For Rangers, it is an absolute must to beat St Johnstone at Ibrox this weekend and to do so convincingly.

After that, McInnes travels to former club Hearts, in what is sure to be an emotionally charged clash.

Bu there is no point looking too far ahead, getting the job done against St Johnstone and regaining the momentum is the immediate priority.