Glasgow Rangers had Lewis Ferguson on the books at Ibrox, but released him in 2013.
Lee McCulloch has told the Evening Times that Rangers must be kicking themselves over the decision to release Lewis Ferguson when he was a youngster after the midfielder played an important role in the Gers’ Scottish Cup exit this week.
Steven Gerrard’s side look set to finish the campaign without silverware after Aberdeen went to Ibrox and bagged a 2-0 win in their quarter-final replay.
He may not have scored, but Ferguson was superb against the Gers. And McCulloch believes that the 19-year-old has made it clear what a mistake Rangers made back in 2013 when they decided to release the midfielder while he was in the academy.
“The sorry thing for Rangers is that he was on the books when he was a young kid and he was told that he wasn’t good enough and that he wouldn’t make it at Ibrox. So he was released,” he told the Evening Times as he lauded the midfielder’s performance on Tuesday.
“He went to Hamilton and in true Ferguson style – like Barry, Derek and his dad Archie – he had a point to prove and he has proven a lot of people wrong. That looks like it has come back to bite Rangers.”
In fairness to the Gers, some players take a lot of time to show serious potential. Ferguson was only just forcing his way into the Hamilton team this time last year as he benefited from Greg Docherty’s move to Rangers.
In hindsight, it was a mistake to let him go. But Rangers’ academy structure appears to be a much better position when it comes to judging talent now, with a number of players catching the eye at various age groups.
And while players with Ferguson’s potential will still fall through the net in the coming years – as they do at every club with a large academy – there appears to be a pathway in place that will allow most of the most exciting starlets to find their way into the first-team picture.
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