Barry Ferguson knows that he can make a lot of decisions in his time at Rangers with very little chance of any ramifications.
Normally, Pittodrie isn’t the place where a Rangers manager would be forgiven for resting players, however, that is exactly what he did.
No Nicolas Raskin or Vaclav Cerny in the Rangers squad, never mind the starting XI.
What the 2-2 draw with 10-men showed, is that the visitors really should have been leaving with all three points.
One man who was intent on leaving with something was Connor Barron who Ferguson entrusted with the Rangers captain’s armband on his return to the club where he spent his formative years.
Barry Ferguson hails stand in Rangers captain Connor Barron
Speaking after the game, Ferguson was quick to praise Barron after being the target of abuse for 90 minutes:
“Yeah, listen, the wee man can handle that. He knows what he was going to come in for in terms of getting a bit of stick,” Ferguson said of Barron handling the pressure.
“I remember that he’d done a very good job at Aberdeen. He was a good player for Aberdeen. The fact is that he wanted to better his career and go to the Rangers.
“I thought he handled the occasion well. Tav coming on obviously takes the armband out of respect.
“I thought the young man was really good today. He’s brilliant to work with, young Connor.
“He’s got some things in his game that he understands he has to work at. I think if he works at them and he gets better at them, he’ll become an all-round better midfielder.”
Has Barron been a good signing for Rangers?
Barron has enjoyed a steady, if unspectacular first season at Rangers.
The 22-year old hasn’t been helped by a shape and system that has thrown the central midfielders to the wolves and left them with a lot of work and ground to cover.
Where he has done his best work, is in Europe in partnership with Nicolas Raskin.
With less possession, Rangers need more energy and intensity, two qualities that Barron has in abundance.
Ferguson is right, Barron has a lot of things to work on, however, he has something more important than technical ability to be a success at Rangers – mentality.
He wants to learn, wants to improve and already understands the standards that are needed.
Barron might not ever be as good a player as his current manager, but he can still be a regular in the Rangers engine room for the prime years of his career.
