There would have been nobody more surprised than Barry Ferguson when Patrick Stewart picked up the phone and asked him to take the reins at Rangers.
The need to appoint a new Rangers manager is growing increasingly urgent given that Athletic Club’s heavy defeat to Man Utd means that it will be qualifying round two for whoever takes charge.
Steven Gerrard is a favourite to return to Rangers, with the title winning boss sharing an equally as impressive record against Celtic.
With Kevin Thelwell appointed as sporting director, there is some experienced help available to join Gretar Steinsson of the San Francisco 49ers in terms of finding a new manager.
But will it be Barry Ferguson?
Barry Ferguson still thinks he has Rangers job chance
Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Celtic, the Hall of Fame legend clearly feels like he has a chance:
“Yeah, of course. But that’s up to people above to decide. Look, since I’ve come in here, there’s been a few bumps. But that does not scare me one single bit.
“I’ve been through the doors now, I know what’s needed in terms of change. So, we just need to wait and see. But as I said to you, it has to be a decision made quickly now because we’re coming to the end of the season.
“You need to obviously start deciding what way you want to go heading into next season. Because this season has been dry in terms of trophies.
“This club needs to get back to challenging and winning trophies again. I keep repeating myself. I’ve told everybody.
“Everybody’s got an opinion. I don’t care about people’s opinions. I know I can do the job. I know I’ve got a real good staff behind me.
“I’ve been asked this question two or three weeks in a row. I think it’s clear. It doesn’t scare me one single bit.
“I know there’s a hell of a lot of work to be done. But I think everybody knows that. And that’s a challenge that I would meet head on. And I know I would change it.”
Ferguson’s record makes for painful reading
The results paint an entirely different picture.
Seven games without a win at Ibrox – a club record – a 153 year record.
No wins in six games against any opponents, even Graeme Murty and Pedro Caixinha managed better results than this.
To make matters worse, Rangers are scoring fewer goals and conceding more than when Philippe Clement was in charge, and he was sacked for a reason.
Ferguson won’t be the next Rangers manager, but there is no reason why he can’t help in the process because it isn’t a normal job.
It’s the same with recruitment.
Ferguson might not know how to set a team up to win games consistently, however, he does know what type of player is needed to Succeed at Ibrox.
