THE immediate online reaction to the Rangers’ statement which announced that Barry Ferguson had been appointed interim head coach until the end of the season this afternoon succinctly summed up the feelings of a bruised and disbelieving support.
The first comments that longsuffering fans of the Ibrox club posted on social media websites left nobody in any doubt about what they thought about Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor being drafted in to help their old team mate in his new, albeit temporary, role.
Is this a wind up? An absolute farce. Is this fake news? This is a sad day. The sooner the boardroom is cleaned out the better. Absolutely bizarre. This takeover cannot come quickly enough. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse. Completely ridiculous.
Yes, it is fair to say the leftfield move, taken less than 24 hours after Philippe Clement had paid the price for Rangers’ dire run of domestic form and been handed his P45, to bring in a quartet of club greats to oversee football matters until the close of the 2024/25 campaign was not universally well received.
The outpouring of anger and incredulity is no reflection on the popularity of Ferguson, McCann, Dodds and McGregor down Govan way. They remain respected figures among those who remember their distinguished and trophy-laden playing careers. Their limited and decidedly unimpressive coaching curricula vitae, though, have not exactly gone unnoticed.
Read more:
-
Takeover talks more important to Rangers' future than new manager
-
Barry Ferguson arrives at Rangers training ground for first time as interim boss
Ferguson, the former Light Blues captain and midfielder and a Hall of Fame inductee, has had spells at lower league outfits Clyde, Kelty Hearts and Alloa Athletic, without much success. He has, too, not donned his tracksuit in three long years. He has most recently been found working as a pundit on the Go Radio football phone-in.
It is four years, meanwhile, since McCann was last sighted in a dugout. The BBC Scotland and Sky Sports analyst had a brief stint in temporary charge of Inverness Caledonian Thistle back in 2021.
Before, that, the one-time Scotland winger spent 18 months in charge of Dundee. He helped keep the Dens Park club in the top flight during his tenure. But he was sacked after a disappointing start to his second full season.
Dodds, who has been assistant at Queen of the South, Dundee and Ross County over the years, worked wonders when he was at Caledonian Thistle. He led the Highlanders into the Premiership play-off final and through to the Scottish Cup final despite a constant backdrop of financial uncertainty. But his services were also dispensed with at the beginning of last term with his side in bottom spot in the Championship.
Bringing them in to work alongside current coach Issame Charai has led, rightly or wrongly, to accusations the 55-time Scottish champions are now being run like a pub team. Surely there were more qualified candidates out there whose services could have been secured at short notice.
Drafting in Russell Martin, the former Rangers and Scotland centre-half who led Southampton into the Premier League in England last season, would not have provoked such a furious backlash for example.
Ferguson should, with Rangers 15 points ahead of third-placed Aberdeen in the William Hill Premiership table and only 11 matches remaining, be able to secure second spot in the league and a Champions League qualifying spot.
But how will a man who has never coached in a full-time league get on when he pits his wits against his Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead next month? The prospect is an enticing one for supporters of the Scottish champions elect. They are counting the days until an individual who is a bit of a hate figure for them crosses the River Clyde.
Before that encounter, there is the not-so-small matter of a Europa League last 16 double header with Fenerbahce of Turkey. Their opponents are managed by no less a figure than Jose Mourinho, a world-famous coach and larger-than-life character who has operated at the highest level in his native Portugal, England, Italy and Spain for over two decades.
Read more:
The new management team will not be in place long-term. But if things go awry then it can certainly have an adverse impact on the club as a whole and the caretaker personally.
Graeme Murty, the Auchenhowie youth coach who stepped up after Mark Warburton departed and then Pedro Caixinha was binned in 2017, found the role hugely challenging.
This has, their excellent continental campaign aside, been another harrowing season for followers of Rangers. But they will certainly get behind the new men at the helm between now and May.
Who knows? Maybe having four Scots who have spent the majority of their careers playing in this country in situ will see an improvement in domestic form. Clement was frequently accused of not appreciating what was required either physically and tactically to grind out results against local rivals. Perhaps Ferguson, McCann, Dodds and McGregor will. They have their backers in among all of the snipers.
Still, there is no getting away from the fact that this is a downright bizarre and completely inexplicable decision by chief executive Patrick Stewart. If Barry Ferguson was the answer then what exactly was the question? Did the former Manchester United official think that drafting in some true blue sorts to oversee matters would get brassed-off Bears back onside? If he did then he was sorely mistaken.
