Rangers had a lot of problems when Barry Ferguson arrived to steady the ship with the interim boss not really managing to fix any of them.
Inconsistency and lapses of concentration in defence have been compounded by a lack of a cutting edge in the final third – two issues that need to be addressed in the summer.
Whoever the new Rangers manager is should learn from how Ferguson set his team up against Celtic, but there is still a lot to be desired domestically, even with seven goals scored in the last two games.
Davide Ancelotti remains the favourite, but he won’t have experienced anything like Scottish football in his career to date.
Ferguson might be “kidding himself” about getting the Rangers job full-time, however, there is one area of the park where he has had a positive influence.
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Barry Ferguson leaves Rangers midfield impression
If there are doubts about his ability as a manager, there can’t be any about how good a player Ferguson was in his day.
A deserved Hall of Fame member, the former skipper had few peers both domestically and on the international stage.
It would appear as though he has been able to impart some of his wisdom onto the current crop.
The last three managers have set Rangers up with a two-man midfield and a No.10, a system that looks good when it works but can be very easy to play against.
With a subtle tweak, it is one area that Ferguson has managed to improve.
What has Ferguson done to improve the midfield?
Rather than playing with a designated playmaker, he has set up with a midfield that looks closer to the one that Steven Gerrard used to use.
One sitter, and two box-to-box midfielders, the difference being that Connor Barron, Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande have been able to rotate depending on who has the ball.
Whilst there are still issues in the forward line in terms of a lack of pace and width, the engine room looks as balanced as it has for some time.
If Ancelotti is the man, he will inherit as much of a mess as Ferguson, but the midfield has shown the early shoots of recovery.
