Derek Ferguson shares what Rangers board must do with brother Barry - Exclusive
Barry Ferguson's chances of landing the Rangers job full-time took a major hit last week with defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.
Rangers' only hopes of salvaging a terrible campaign rested solely on their European aspirations, which saw them make it as far as the quarter-finals.
Losing 2-0 to Athletic on aggregate is certainly no shame, but it means the Gers now have five meaningless Scottish Premiership fixtures to play out - a visit from Celtic aside.
Ferguson will certainly not see it that way, though, as he now has those five matches remaining to strengthen his case to stay on permanently amid ongoing uncertainty over the Rangers manager's job.
Barry Ferguson 50-50 for Rangers job
Amid that uncertainty, Derek Ferguson believes brother Barry probably has a "50-50" chance of being appointed Rangers manager this summer.
And Derek insists the Rangers board must take Barry into serious consideration for the way he has handled the job in a caretaker capacity.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, Derek said: "The club have probably been waiting to see how this European campaign pans out really, but they have to be taking him into consideration.
| Fixture | Venue |
| St Mirren | St Mirren Park |
| Celtic | Ibrox |
| Aberdeen | Ibrox |
| Dundee United | Ibrox |
| Hibernian | Easter Road |
"He's come in and been no-nonsense, plus he's spoken really well. He's brought in two other guys, [Billy] Dodds and [Neill] McCann, who know the Scottish game inside out, so you can look at him and his staff and say together it ticks a lot of boxes.
"For Barry, it's about managing the players, which I think he's done. The fans have enjoyed seeing his passion and that gives the players energy.
"They have to take him seriously, but at the end of the day, it's probably 50-50."
Who else could Rangers appoint as next manager?
It has been a couple of months now since Rangers sacked Philippe Clement - a couple of months too late in the view of many - and things have gone quiet on that front of late.
Steven Gerrard remains the favourite among many bookmakers to take charge, much to the surprise of some.
Russell Martin is another who has been linked with the job, as has Jose Mourinho, while Barry Ferguson is also very much in the mix.
Ferguson's aim now will be to finish the season with six wins from six, in which case club chiefs may well have little choice but to stick with him.