Barry Ferguson will barely get the chance to draw breath before Rangers head to Rugby Park to face Kilmarnock on Wednesday evening.
Rangers find themselves Scottish Premiership long-shots, blowing what was potentially their last chance to spark something of a title race in the weekend’s 2-0 defeat to St Mirren.
You don’t have to tell Barry Ferguson that this was an unacceptable result and now the ex-Rangers skipper heads a dream team of club legends tasked with hammering home that message to an increasingly timid squad.
But whilst Allan McGregor, Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Issame Charai will have their roles to play, it’s Barry who will bear the brunt of the responsibility.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Barry Ferguson was one of the most distinctive and talented midfielders of his era.
And that personality appears to have followed the former Rangers captain into coaching, with the treble-winning skipper insisting fans will see his team’s identity from the first whistle at Rugby Park.
Barry Ferguson promises instant changes at Rangers
“I’m my own man,” explained Barry Ferguson in an interview with RTV.
“But listen, as you mentioned, I played under some fantastic managers that obviously I learned so much off and obviously I’m going to take bits but I’m my own guy, I’ve got a certain way of playing, you’ll see that straight away and that’s where we’ve got to get to work on the training ground.
“We’ve only got a day’s preparation before the Kilmarnock game which is not ideal but it is what it is, I’m not complaining, listen, I’m in a fantastic position and we’re just going to give it a roll.
“You’ll see certain differences come Wednesday night.”
Barry Ferguson also expanded on this later in the interview, sending a direct message to fans promising an ‘aggressive’ team that will play to win every match.
“My message would be, you’re going to see a team that’s going to have a certain style of play, attack minded, and we’re going to try and win every single game, we’re going to be aggressive, which was a part of my game as well and I don’t mean that by going in and tackling people or going over the top on people,” said Ferguson.
“I mean, aggressive in the press, we just need to make sure that we get it right, as I said, but when I look at the squad, I do believe there is a team capable of winning games week in, week out, so, I’m just excited to get started, you can see I’m getting a bit sweaty here and ready to go.
“We’ll just, listen, we’ll take it game, by game. Every game we enter, we enter to win.”
Barry Ferguson sends message to Rangers players
It’s not just the Rangers fans for whom Barry Ferguson has a message ahead of the next three months.
The former Rangers captain has also sent a message to the Ibrox first-team, urging them to enjoy playing for the great club but to take care of business.
“Enjoy it, you’re playing with Glasgow Rangers, it’s a privilege,” said Ferguson. “You walk through this training centre, I’ve not been here for a while and I see the changes.
“Enjoy yourself, they’re going to enjoy training, training will be tough, there’s no doubt, but it will be enjoyable as well. It’ll be at a certain standard which I would expect.
“So, yep, it’s all about enjoying your football and it gets serious at 90 minutes, it’s all about winning at Rangers, that’s how I was brought up and that’s the way I want my players to be.
“You have to win every game, the demands and expectations put on you here. When people come to watch you, they expect you to win games and I don’t think we’ve won enough this year.”
