Barry Ferguson has three months to put his own stamp on this Rangers team, and bridge the gap between a disappointing end to the Philippe Clement era and a fresh start come the summer.
The legendary captain – appointed on an interim basis until the end of the current campaign – certainly arrives back in familiar surroundings with plenty of tasks filling his Ibrox in-tray.
Can Ferguson give Rangers a much-needed tempo? Can he solve those long-running issues against low blocks. Rangers dominated possession and mustered far more shots than St Mirren in Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat – the final straw as far as Philippe Clement was concerned – as those old problems resurfaced once again.
Barry Ferguson admitted he could not turn down the chance to drag his beloved Gers out of the mire. The former Ibrox skipper is joined by Neil McCann, Allan McGregor and Billy Dodds, three bonafide club icons reuniting in the dugout.
One interesting aspect of their emotional return is that Ferguson and McCann both appear aligned in how to answer one of the club’s biggest questions.
Barry Ferguson knows how to solve Rangers’ Nedim Bajrami conundrum
The struggles of Nedim Bajrami – the club’s marquee summer signing – remain a major cause for concern.
Despite a bright start following his £3.4 million deadline day arrival from Sassuolo last summer, the Albania international’s influence has waned pretty spectacularly since then.
Bajrami was ‘so poor’ against Queen’s Park in that Scottish Cup debacle. He’s also started just one of the last five Premiership matches since an insipid display in the 1-1 draw with Dundee at the start of January.
Though, back in December, Ferguson shared his theory as to how Rangers could get the best out of Bajrami, in conversation with the Daily Record. The five-time Premiership champion had just watched the former Empoli and Grasshoppers playmaker impress as a number ten against Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final, opening the scoring at Hampden Park.
Now, Bajrami had been deployed largely as a left-winger until then. A footballer lacking in speed but boasting an eye for a defence-splitting through ball, Ferguson felt, was always better suited to a more central spot, with his performance against Celtic providing all the evidence he needed.
“Nedim Bajrami is starting to look like a £3 million player now he’s being deployed in the number ten role,” Ferguson said at the time.
“I really enjoyed the way he got his goal [against Celtic]. He wasn’t just happy to play [Hamza] Igamane in and then stand back admiring his own pass. He was on the move right away because he sniffed there might be the chance for a tap-in if Kasper Schmeichel spilled the shot.
“And that is exactly what happened.”
Neil McCann knows Bajrami’s strengths and weaknesses
Interestingly, one of Ferguson’s new Rangers assistants – the aforementioned McCann – agreed about Bajrami’s greater suitability to the number ten spot.
That he has started there in only four of his 12 Premiership starts, then, perhaps explains why Bajrami has not quite lived up to expectations.
Bajrami himself admits that he prefers to play as a ‘ten’. Ferguson could deploy Ianis Hagi or even Hamza Igamane on the left, then, with Vaclav Cerny keeping his spot on the right.
“The shape allowed Rangers to be a big feature in the game,” McCann said BBC Sportscene after that six-goal thriller with their Old Firm rivals, Celtic eventually triumphing on penalties.
“Philippe Clement changed it a wee bit. We’ve seen him for large parts of the season playing with three midfielders and three attackers. But getting an extra attacker in there and playing Bajrami as a ten…
“This is where this guy was bought to play and he’s had to be patient. I think he’s a much better player coming from the ten. Bajrami was set up to pounce on any mistakes.”
So, as Ferguson and McCann prepare for Wednesday’s trip to Kilmarnock, do not be surprised if Bajrami returns to the XI his favoured role.
