John Hartson has backed Barry Ferguson for a return to Ibrox.
John Hartson
Pundit and former Celtic striker John Hartson has told The Scottish Sun that Rangers should be looking to bring Barry Ferguson back to the club as they line up a new manager.
Earlier this month, Rangers announced that Mark Warburton had tendered his resignation amid strong criticism from supporters, with assistant David Weir also leaving the club.
After initial confusion over whether Warburton had actually resigned or not, Rangers fans are still left in the dark over the club’s plans moving forward.
Caretaker boss Graeme Murty oversaw Sunday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Dundee, and chairman Dave King must now decide whether to appoint an interim boss until the end of the season – as was the case with Stuart McCall in 2015 – or bring in a long-term appointment now.
Former Rangers players such as Kevin Muscat, Frank de Boer, Derek McInnes and Billy Davies have all been linked with the job, but John Hartson believes another ex-Rangers ace should be handed a return to Ibrox.
Hartson has told The Scottish Sun that Rangers need to bring in somebody with ties to the club, and thinks there is nobody better to bring back than former captain Barry Ferguson.
Ferguson, 39, had two spells with Rangers as a player, racking up a total 431 appearances and 60 goals, and is currently managing in the fourth tier of Scottish football with Clyde, winning almost 40% of his games in charge since being appointed in 2014.
Hartson has suggested that Ferguson could be Rangers’ version of Neil Lennon, who enjoyed great success in charge of Celtic, but did admit that he doesn’t think Ferguson is quite ready to manage Rangers, and should be groomed under a more experienced manager at Ibrox.
Clyde manager Barry Ferguson
“They need Rangers men at Ibrox. And I can’t think of anyone better suited to turning things around there than Barry,” said Hartson. “In many ways he’s the Rangers version of Neil Lennon, and he didn’t do too badly when he went into Celtic. Maybe it’s time for the Ibrox powers-that-be to copy that blueprint. “
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he should be brought in as manager. He’s doing a very decent job at Clyde and for me he’s almost guaranteed to become Rangers manager one day in the future. But right now I think he’d be better suited to go in there and work alongside someone.”
“Something has to change, that’s for sure. It’s nowhere close to being good enough to be 27 points behind Celtic at this stage. Warburton just didn’t get it. The vital thing for me is that bring in someone why knows what the club is about. And their former captain fits the bill,” he added.
If Rangers do want to bring in Ferguson to work under another manager, than Alex McLeish fits the bill. McLeish, a former Rangers boss himself, managed Ferguson at Rangers and Birmingham City as well as with the Scottish national team, meaning they could reunite in a managerial duo at Ibrox.
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