Barry Ferguson has become the first Rangers manager in nearly a decade to fail to win his first home match in charge of the club, as the Ibrox side succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Motherwell on Saturday.
The new interim boss faced an uphill challenge to pick up the pieces from Philippe Clement’s turbulent tenure when his team hosted Motherwell at Ibrox.
Rangers' home stadium hasn't been a happy hunting ground in recent weeks as they'd fallen to a league loss to St Mirren and were eliminated out the Scottish Cup by second-tier Queen's Park under Clement's leadership.
So, much was expected from Rangers to bounce back when eighth-placed Motherwell arrived in Govan.
But it was the visitors who emerged victorious from this Scottish Premiership fixture after a strong and resilient performance.
Goals from Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow had Motherwell in the ascendancy at half-time, leaving Rangers with much to do in the second half.
Rangers did respond after the break when Cyriel Dessers pulled one back in the 54th minute, but despite some pressure, the home side failed to build on the goal, and the match ended in frustration for Ferguson and the angry Ibrox faithful.
(Image: Andrew Milligan - PA)
Read more:
- Ferguson makes bold call to hook THREE Rangers players at HT
- Barry Ferguson explains Clinton Nsiala Rangers squad omission
This result sees Ferguson join a select group of Rangers managers who have failed to win their first home match in charge.
The previous man to do so was Stuart McCall, whose Rangers side drew 1-1 with Livingston in the Scottish Championship on March 14, 2015.
The last Rangers boss to lose his first home match was Tommy McLean, who saw his team lose 2-1 to Celtic in November 1983.