Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Robbie Hanratty

Rangers suffer defeat in Barry Ferguson’s home debut, setting unwanted record

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: 


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.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.