Barry Ferguson was a top Rangers player and captain who represented the club he loves with pride.
But his spells at the club, and indeed captaincies, were not without their controversies and he was actually stripped of the armband TWICE.
Once under Paul Le Guen, which hurts him to this very day, and once under Walter Smith which he accepts was all his own doing.
His main issue with the Frenchman’s decision was the lack of respect he was showing for what it meant to be skipper at Ibrox.
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Ferguson busts myth about James Tavernier Rangers comparison
That’s why the former Scotland midfielder insists what is happening with James Tavernier and the armband at Rangers right now is NOT the same as his situation.
Le Guen had decided the captaincy was not all that important and after stripping Fergie of it, he was going to share the responsibilty around the squad.
Ferguson admits he was left numb at a time he does not particularly like looking back on.
And what enraged him further was the contempt with which the manager was treating the Rangers captaincy.
With James Tavernier now dropping in and out of the Gers team to be rested and protected at times, Jack Butland has been handed the armband for games when he is on the bench.
Fergie insists Clement is not doing the same as Le Guen because the Belgian gets the importance of who is captain.
Speaking in the Daily Record, he said: “There’s a big difference between my situation back then and the one Tav is experiencing right now.
“Unlike me, he has a manager who also fully understands the significance of the Rangers captaincy.
“Clement isn’t disrespecting the armband by handing it around to anyone who fancies having a go. On the contrary, he has selected Jack Butland as the man to step up if or when Tavernier isn’t in the team.
“And Butland has the personality and the intensity required to fill that mantle. I look at John Souttar as another who could fill the role if required.
“Maybe young Connor Barron could be a future Rangers captain if he continues to grow into the jersey.
“But Clement is not flinging it around willy-nilly. Yes, he may be dipping Tavernier in and out of his team but he can only pick 11 players at any one time.
“If Tavernier isn’t one of them then someone else has to lead the team. You can’t expect to be bombproof just because you happen to be the skipper.”
Walter Smith right to strip Ferguson of captaincy
The other occasion on which Ferguson had the armband taken off him was under Le Guen’s successor, the great Walter Smith.
The legendary boss had handed the honour back to him but he would go on to lose it again after making an obscene gesture when on Scotland duty, after Boozegate.
Fergie had been dropped due to the bench after a late night drinking session with Allan McGregor and while sitting on the bench made the gestures towards the onlooking cameras.
He was stripped of the captaincy for both club and country and fined two weeks’ wages by a fuming Smith.
He had no issues with that decision and reflecting on it, said: “Of course, I got the armband back when Walter Smith returned from the club and reinstated me into the team.
“And, eventually, the same man would take it off me – and I knew at that point I would never get to wear it again.
But that was because I had let the club down off the field. It was all my own fault. I acted unprofessionally while representing Rangers on Scotland duty and I had to suffer the consequences.
I was hit with a hefty fine and suspended for what I did. And I couldn’t argue about any of it.
“But losing the captaincy was what really hurt me deep down and, you know what? Walter was spot on in doing that too.
It was a lightbulb moment for myself. It made me realise how badly I had disrespected that armband and I realised I’d have to leave and try to reinvent myself as a player at Birmingham which, I hope, I managed to do.
“But nothing compares to the pride I felt at being the captain of Rangers. I know how precious it is.
