Kevin Thomson knows exactly the kind of character Rangers legend Barry Ferguson was as a player.
The two played alongside each other at Ibrox during Ferguson’s second Rangers spell and Kevin Thomson insists the interim Rangers manager is a born winner.
That’s why Thomson reckons that Rangers’ five-game home losing streak will be getting under the Ibrox legend’s skin.
But the former Hibs midfielder has given an insider’s insight into what’s going wrong at Ibrox with Thomson also having experience in the away dressing room.
Kevin Thomson reckons Rangers are playing into opposition hands at Ibrox
Kevin Thomson reckons opposition sides smell blood and are taking full advantage of a nervous Rangers team at Ibrox.
The former Rangers midfielder told the BBC Scottish Football podcast that opposition managers ‘feed’ off negative energy inside the famous old stadium.
David Gray implemented a ‘gameplan’ which saw Hibs stick to their shape whilst being fully committed without the ball in Glasgow.
It worked a treat and Thomson reckons Rangers are struggling to deal with the aggression and commitment of opposition sides at present.
”If opposition teams come to Ibrox and they think there’s a bit of fear there, there’s a bit of animosity, they breed on that, they live on it,” Thomson said.
”That’s what they want. That’ll be the manager’s team talks. I’ve sat in the opposition dressing room.
”Can you silence the crowd? Can you stay in the game? All the old cliches that you can see and unfortunately for the last five games at home that the players have not been able to handle that.”
’Mentality monster’ Barry Ferguson has no ‘hiding place’
Rangers’ defeat to Hibs has raised major doubts over the credentials of Barry Ferguson when it comes to becoming the next Rangers manager.
Ferguson was furious come full-time and told reporters that he teared into the lacklustre Rangers team following the 2-0 defeat.
Thomson insists this comes as no surprise to him with Barry a ‘mentality monster’ who has always driven standards.
“I think you’ll always get an honest answer off of Barry,” Thomson said.
”I think he wears his heart on his sleeve, I think it’s there for everybody to see. Listen, he’s a winner. He’s a mentality monster.
“He’ll find that difficult when that’s maybe not reflected in his players, in his team. It’s the narrative he uses, ‘it’s my players, it’s my team’, he’s happy to take that mantle.”
When it comes to what happens next, Thomson is clear that Rangers’ current home form is ‘unacceptable’.
Ferguson’s former Rangers teammate is also clear that there is no ‘hiding place’ with six league games and at leat two games in the Europa League to come this season.
”There’s no doubt that losing five games on the bounce at Ibrox is unacceptable for any Rangers team,” Thomson explained.
”I think that’s the hard part to get away from. There can’t be any hiding place from it. Things need to get better. The narrative needs to change. The quality needs to get better.”
