Barry Ferguson reckons Rangers had rivals Celtic 'rattled' and that Michael Beale's derby gameplan 'worked'.
The Ibrox hero believes, despite Beale being winless against Ange Postecoglou this campaign, that the Scottish champions were put off their 'normal stride' by the visiting Light Blues. Rangers' hopes of surmounting a title challenge were swiftly cut short as Postecoglou and co went twelve points clear and are in pole position to gear up for a potential domestic Treble.
There were storms aplenty following the 3-2 thriller at Celtic Park but former Rangers captain Ferguson insists there were more positives than negatives to take from the ultimate defeat. He believes the game plan 'worked' for Beale and that the Scottish Cup semi-final will provide the setting to knock the Hoops off their perch.
He told his Record Sport column: "The frustrating thing is that Celtic were there for the taking on Saturday.
"Three days later, the feeling of an opportunity missed hasn’t gone away and it’s going to stay there, gnawing away in the pit of the stomach for a while to come. Maybe until April 30 at Hampden Park, when Rangers will get another chance to put one over on Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Scottish Cup semi-final. One that they simply have to grab with both hands.
"Michael Beale might be relatively new to the job but he’s been around here long enough to know that he simply can’t afford to leave the National Stadium with another Old Firm defeat on his CV. Rangers have to retain that silverware and the manager will know what’s expected of him.
"And here’s the good news where my old club is concerned. Beale proved to me at the weekend that he knows how to set his team up tactically against Celtic because, for long spells, the high-intensity, aggressive approach knocked them out of their normal stride.
"They were rattled by the way in which Rangers were pressing them and harassing them all over the pitch and it showed in the number of slack passes and sloppy mistakes that they made. Even when they managed to play their way through the initial press from Alfredo Morelos or Malik Tillman, they were pounced upon by Ryan Jack and Nicolas Raskin who worked their socks off for the team in the middle.
"Honestly, the game plan worked. It was exactly how I wanted to see Rangers set about their rivals, matching their energy levels and getting in a few faces."
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