Following Rangers’ defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup, Barry Ferguson has suggested that the weight of expectation is too much for the Gers players.
For Rangers legends and life-long fans such as Barry Ferguson, watching his team get dismantled by biggest rivals Celtic will have both hurtful and aggravating.
Celtic took no prisoners as they ran out 4-0 victors against the Gers last Sunday, and the scoreline could have been much worse.
The Rangers players offered very little in terms fight, which they did remarkably well at Ibrox during the last encounter in fairness to them, and Ferguson has since suggested that the weight of expectation that comes with wearing a Gers jersey is simply too much for them.
Not many of the current Rangers squad have any experience of playing for a club of this size, starring in front of such a large crowd, which can turn very hostile if given nothing to shout about.
There are exceptions such as Bruno Alves, Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace, however the former has offered little in terms of quality while the latter pair have been clearly out of favour with Graeme Murty and now seem unlikely to ever kick a ball in a Rangers shirt again.
Speaking to the PLZ Soccer Show on 18 April 2018, Ferguson said: “I think [the Rangers jersey] is too heavy for them.
“A lot of the players, and the demands that are expected at a club as big as Rangers where, they turn up every second week, 50,000 sell-out, Rangers fans demand to win, and I think they find it a problem.
“The expectations are too heavy on their shoulders, they struggle, and that’s worrying.”
Rangers have seemingly applied a policy in recent times of bringing ‘Gers people’ into the club, typically in the form of players and staff who are genuine fans of the team.
Jamie Murphy, Greg Docherty and Jason Cummings are examples of this, none of whom have any experience of playing for a club even half the size of Rangers, which is perhaps a suggestion that the current policy is not actually in the best interest of the club.
Throughout recent history, Rangers sides have had a healthy contingent of local Scottish players, some of whom supported the club. However, they have often recruited foreign players with a strong footballing pedigree, with the experience of playing for teams comparable with the Ibrox side, and both have complimented each other magnificently to produce some fine teams.
Regardless, Ferguson’s point is a valid one and this summer the board must sift through the squad to decide which players can genuinely bare the weight of the shirt. A lot of work needs to be done, but it is not to say the club do not still currently possess a number of players of decent quality.
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