‘Difficult’ – Mark Hateley shares his honest opinion on Barry Ferguson getting the interim Rangers job

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Mark Hateley reckons the interim appointment of Barry Ferguson by Rangers is what the club needed amid a ‘difficult’ moment.

Former captain Ferguson was handed the Rangers manager reins until the end of the season after the sacking of Philippe Clement.

Ferguson admitted he never expected the phone call to ever come from Rangers over becoming their next boss.

His last role in management came with Alloa Athletic three years ago now and he had no real desire to get back into the dugout.

But he did just that on Wednesday night against Kilmarnock and saw his side fight back from 2-0 down to secure a galvanising 4-2 victory in the Premiership.

Despite Ferguson’s limited managerial experience and lack of urge to return to the game as a head coach, Hateley believes it’s the perfect fit for the Light Blues because it’s exactly what the fans wanted.

• READ MORE: Barry Ferguson thinks Rangers have a £4m ace with a ‘bright future’ but he must ‘improve’

Mark Hateley backs Barry Ferguson Rangers appointment

Hateley was a goalscoring machine for Rangers across two spells in the 1990s and was at the club when Ferguson made his playing debut in May 1997.

He knows exactly what the Rangers manager’s job means to Ferguson and understands wholeheartedly why he decided to accept the job from chief executive Patrick Stewart.

“Yeah, it probably works. It works for the club at this particular moment”, Hateley told GlasgowWorld when asked if Ferguson is really the right man at this time for Rangers.

“It’s a difficult situation for Barry, but all the Rangers fans have sent their best wishes to him in a real difficult moment, I would say for the football club.

“It’s not a position you would jump into too willingly at the moment, but as I say, once that job’s offered to you, particularly if you have that connection to the club, you’ll take it.

“It’s a difficult three months left a short space of time to try and do something, but the fans want Rangers-minded people back. They’ve got that.

“Whether he can transmit that on the field in this short space of time will be a difficult task, but as I say, all the best to him and his team.

“It’s a tough one right now, especially in this period he’s come in at. He’s got the European game coming up, then you’ve got an Old Firm game and Dundee away.

“A tough run and only time will tell, but I’d imagine it’ll be little tinkering here and there rather than big changes because of the personnel available to him.”

Ferguson faces second game against Motherwell

Ferguson probably wondered what he got himself into when Kilmarnock raced into a 2-0 lead at Rugby Park in midweek.

Rangers had already lost to Kilmarnock in Ayrshire this season and given their dodgy away form on the whole, nobody quite expected what was to come.

Ferguson’s tactical tweak after taking off Clinton Nsiala worked wonders for his side and they went on to blow Killie away in the second-half.

Next up is his Ibrox debut as boss as Motherwell – who also have a new manager in the form of Michael Wimmer – come to Govan.

But Ferguson doesn’t want the attention focused on him. All he wants is his players to go out there and deliver consecutive Premiership victories to close the gap on Celtic to 10 points.

He said at his presser: “I’m looking forward to it, obviously. I enjoyed Wednesday night, apart from the first 30 minutes, that is.

“But listen, it’s not about me. It’s about us going and putting on a performance, us being at home and taking the game to Motherwell to try and get three points. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about.

“It was great. I played with the team I grew up supporting. Obviously then taking that next step to be captain. Now, it’s standing on the sidelines and managing the team.

“It’s a proud moment but the focus isn’t on me. The focus is on me getting my team to start getting results on a regular basis. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”