Rangers hunt for a manager seems to be approaching the finishing straight with several big names linked with the top job.
Steven Gerrard and Davide Ancelotti remain the front runners according to reports, with others like Russell Martin still in the hunt too.
One name who isn’t on the list is Barry Ferguson after being told that Rangers won’t be extending his stay.
Aside from a couple of good results against Celtic and Fenerbahce, there wasn’t much to write home about and it would have been a shock to see Ferguson appointed on a permanent basis.
Barry Ferguson gutted to have missed out on Rangers job
Craig Moore, speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, has claimed that Ferguson felt otherwise:
“Look, I did manage to get a hold of Barry yesterday once I heard the breaking news. And it’s fair to say he was disappointed. He felt very empty.
“Because he felt that he could do a real job. He had a real clear vision of what he could do and what needed to be done. But by all accounts, the decision makers at Rangers want to go down a more experienced path.
“So, it will be interesting to see what that is in terms of who that particular person is. I think the one word that maybe I still don’t think that the new people, they still think that Rangers is a project. And Barry was very clear, as I am and I’m sure a lot of Rangers supporters are, Glasgow Rangers is not a project club.
“It’s a club about getting a team that can go and win trophies. So, it would be interesting to see who the person is going to be, how well they hit the ground, you must hit the ground running. As great a club as Rangers Football Club are in terms of their support.
“If it doesn’t start well next season, that support will fade and fade very quickly in my opinion.”
Rangers need more than hopes and dreams in their next manager
Despite making Rangers worse on almost every level, Ferguson still seemed to think that he had a chance.
It is one things saying what needs to change and what Rangers need to be successful, but it is another entirely to impart those changes – both Philippe Clement and Michael Beale promised the world, as did Ferguson.
Ferguson kept starting games with the same tactics that hadn’t worked week-to-week and left with a club record in terms of consecutive games without a win and losses at Ibrox.
The club is over 150 years old, that sort of record takes some doing.
There seems to be a misunderstanding about what a “project” club is too.
Rangers need a plan, first and foremost, and by definition that becomes a project.
It’s a long-term project, but it is still a project, because the club is miles away from where it needs to be just now.
They need someone who has a clear plan, but who can also implement it on the pitch via the training ground, someone Ferguson clearly isn’t.
