While the pressure is never really off at a club like Rangers, Barry Ferguson does at least have relatively to lose as he takes interim charge following the inevitable and arguably overdue sacking of Philippe Clement.
The same cannot be said, however, of another coach who reportedly had admirers at Ibrox.
Who knows whether John Eustace would have come back into contention as Rangers again scour the market for a coach capable of cutting the gap between themselves and Celtic at the top of the standings?
Former Birmingham City boss Eustace was linked with the Rangers post back in late-2023, before Philippe Clement was appointed to pick up the pieces left by Mick Beale.
Now, they say absence makes the heart grow stronger and it certainly did at St Andrew’s. Birmingham sacked Eustace when they were sixth in the Championship 16 months ago. The same month Clement was appointed at Rangers.
That The Blues would go on to be relegated later that very same season speaks volumes about how well that decision aged.
But while it was the Birmingham bosses who made that erroneous decision to twist rather than stick in the midst of a play-off battle, Eustace only has himself to blame if things turn sour for his new employers a year-and-a-half later.
John Eustace takes over at Derby County as Rangers eye new boss
There is a lot to be said for someone who adores his old employers quite as much as Eustace and Ferguson clearly do. But if Ferguson has very little to lose during his three month interim stint in charge of Rangers, Eustace does not have such a luxury.
John Eustace jilted play-off seeking Blackburn Rovers to make an emotional return to his former stomping ground a few weeks back.
While Rangers have a comfortable safety net protecting them from third place, Eustace’s Derby County side are just one point off the bottom of England’s second tier.
And while Blackburn continue to hold off those looking to usurp their top-six spot, Derby find themselves glancing enviously upwards. The ramshackle Rams have lost a staggering nine of their last 11 Championship games, drawing the other two.
And, as Derby have found out, there is no guarantee of a so-called ‘new manager bounce’. Eustace’s reign began with a 4-0 battering at Queens Park Rangers, followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall on Saturday.
Eustace has thrown himself into a Championship relegation fight
What, realistically, is the worst thing that can happen to Barry Ferguson if he cannot arrest the mediocrity embracing this Rangers squad? Three years on from his most recent managerial role – a brief stint at Alloa Athletic – it’s not as if this will have the ruinous effect of cutting down a young, promising head coach in his prime.
But for Eustace, leaving Blackburn for Derby in a decision which infuriated Rovers supporters and baffled the neutrals the land over, this already has the makings of the sort of decision which can come to define a career which was just starting to take off.
“We’ll keep working and there’s no way anyone’s giving up,” Eustace said following that Millwall reverse at Pride Park. “We’ll keep fighting and we’ll have a really good week’s training again next week.”
Who knows, perhaps Rangers may have renewed their interest in Eustace in the aftermath of Clement’s long-awaited departure. Not only did that seemingly ill-advised Derby defection rule him out of contention this month, it could also serve to scrub his name off any summer shortlist too.
