It almost goes without saying that, if you give the opponents a two-goal head start in each and every fixture, Barry Ferguson’s desire to turn Rangers into a winning machine is destined to go unfulfilled.
A Cyriel Dessers brace alongside goals from Vaclav Cerny and Nedim Bajrami may have helped Rangers snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Kilmarnock in midweek but, as Barry Ferguson made his emotional return to Ibrox three days on from that Rugby Park fightback, there was to be no reprieve this time around.
Despite Dessers taking his tally to 21 for the season, goals in the first half hour from Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow consigned the hosts to yet another embarrassing Ibrox defeat.
That is three losses on a spin now at home. Michael Wimmer’s Motherwell follow in the footsteps of St Mirren and second-tier Queen’s Park, with even the appointment of club legend Ferguson on an interim basis not sufficient to shake this underperforming institution from their seemingly never-ending slumber.
Ferguson hauled off Clinton Nsiala after just 31 minutes in Ayrshire.
This time, Ianis Hagi, Hamza Igamane and Robin Propper failed to return after the interval as Nedim Bajrami, Leon Balogun and Tom Lawrence entered the fray in a very rare triple half-time change.
Clearly, while Ferguson might not have the tactical chops to earn himself the role on a full-time basis, the single-minded ruthlessness which made him such a success as a player in that famous blue shirt has followed him into management.
Jack Butland blunder helps Motherwell stun Barry Ferguson’s Rangers
There is, though, one more change the Rangers faithful are now urging their captain-turned-coach to make.
Jack Butland’s alarming dip in form might be a 2024/25 talking point but it actually has roots in the previous campaign. There were shades of May’s Scottish Cup final heartbreak at the hands of Celtic in the way Armstrong opened the scoring for Motherwell on Saturday afternoon.
That day, Butland spilled Paulo Bernardo’s shot at the feet of a grateful Adam Idah. This time, it was Armstrong – the ponytailed poacher on loan from English-based fourth-tier strugglers Carlisle United – who pounced.
So reliable 12 months ago, Butland currently looks like a goalkeeper in need of some time out of the spotlight. Since Christmas alone, the former England international gifted St Mirren a penalty in a Paisley reverse, scored a calamitous own goal against Manchester United, and to top it off he served up Motherwell’s Ibrox opener on a silver platter.
Butland’s save percentage is currently only the seventh best in the Scottish Premiership. What’s more, he is also underperforming his ‘expected saves’ metric.
At this stage, with so much damage done to his reputation, a growing fraction of the Rangers faithful would be happy to see Ferguson make another bold call and hand the gloves over to Liam Kelly for the remainder of the campaign.
What do the Gers really have to lose, at this stage?
Fans want Liam Kelly to get a run in goal in Butland’s place
“Too many mistakes from Butland,” one irate supporter writes on X. “Give Kelly a go for the rest of the season.”
“Butland should have been replaced by Kelly,” another agrees succinctly.
“A season full of mistakes from him give Kelly the rest of the season in goal,” a supporter argues.
Rangers now have only the Europa League to play for. They are due to travel to Fenerbahce for Thursday’s last-16 tie in Istanbul.
And while Kelly might have featured only seven times since returning to Glasgow from Motherwell in the summer, the 29-year-old more than held his own during Butland’s time out of action a few months back.
He offers considerable experience despite being a couple of years younger than the current number one. Notably, Liam Kelly was a calming influence as Rangers hammered Celtic 3-0 to begin the New Year in style.
“Given Butland’s inability to to catch the ball, surely Liam Kelly has to start Thursday,” a Gers supporter adds.
“Butland needs dropped. We felt safer with Kelly.”
“Just put Kelly between the sticks for the rest of the season. Butland is done, this is more than a blip in form.”
