There is a lot going on at Rangers just now, unfortunately competing for trophies on the pitch isn’t one of them.
The reset button has been pressed though and a new Rangers manager should have new owners and a new hierarchy above him to share some of the burden.
Kevin Thelwell is a shrewd appointment as sporting director and the 49ers Enterprises takeover will only open doors in terms of commercial and recruitment help.
Spare a thought for Barry Ferguson though, only a matter of months ago he was offered his dream job which has since turned into something of a nightmare.
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Peter Lovenkrands feels sorry for Rangers teammate Barry Ferguson
Former teammate Peter Lovenkrands reckons that the Hall of Fame skipper has been dealt a poor hand though:
“I think under the circumstances he’s done OK. I think in Europe he’s had some fantastic performances, and even against Celtic as well,” Lovenkrands told The Rangers Review.
“But of course domestically against the smaller teams, that’s been the one that’s been Achilles’ heel and been tough. It seems to be that they’re going behind more times than normal and then have to fight themselves back.
“That’s not normally what you see from Rangers. But I think Barry’s been dealt a tough hand and I think he’s handled the pressure well.
“I’ve spoken to him and he still seems like he’s loving it. I know him from playing with him of course. I know what character he’s like and I know he’s strong.
“His mentality is strong and in his head he’s thinking about what to change. But it’s all going to be if he’s going to get the nod in the end.
“If the ownership happens, do they have their own men? We don’t know. So, we just need to see what’s going to happen. But I think under the circumstances, I don’t think anybody could have done a better job.”
Was Ferguson given an impossible task?
Ferguson clearly still has a lot of friends in the media and from his time playing at Rangers.
The common consensus is that it is the Rangers squad that is at fault for the poor campaign, not the appointment of someone who is clearly out of their depth.
It is one thing saying what you are going to bring to a club, but Ferguson has found out the hard way that to implement it is an entirely different story.
The players clearly aren’t bad. As Lovenkrands said, they have done well against Celtic and in Europe.
With the next manager not going to have any links to Rangers, Ferguson will have to take a back seat and return to his ambassador role, hopefully to watch the team he loves lifting trophies.
