John Hartson reckons Giovanni van Bronckhorst would have really benefitted from adding a club hero like Barry Ferguson to his Rangers coaching team - even if he sees him as a threat.
Pressure is mounting on the Dutchman with the Light Blues sitting seven points adrift of Celtic at the top of the Premiership table following their defeat at St Johnstone coupled up with the Hoops' weekend triumph over Dundee United. Results and performances of late have left the Ibrox support angered with James Tavernier confronted by the travelling numbers in Perth following the 2-1 loss.
The Champions League campaign also produced six defeats from six games and the unwanted tag as the 'worst ever' side after ending with a -20 goal difference. They took batterings from Liverpool, Ajax and Napoli on their big return to Europe's top table. Van Bronckhorst himself is highly-regarded from his playing days at the club, but Celtic legend Hartson believes having a Ferguson in his corner would be a huge pro - but understands why he would be reluctant to do so.
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Speaking on Go Radio, he said: "He's failed to bring in someone like Barry Ferguson.
"Maybe he sees Barry as a sort of threat because he knows straight away when he brings a player like Barry Ferguson in, who used to run Rangers Football Club by the way, he is a huge player and huge character within Rangers Football Club.
"For me, a character like Barry Ferguson, you know if Giovanni van Bronckhorst loses three games in a row, the fans start singing for Barry. Does Gio want that?
"Managers see that. They see players bigger than them, bigger characters than them and they think, 'I'm not quite sure about that appointment'."
On the race for the tile, he added: “They’re seven points and 16 goals clear, so really 8 points. They have to lose three games - can you see Celtic losing three games? I know they have Rangers to play three times in the league, but the way Celtic are playing right now, they’re just scintillating.
“It already seems a long way back for Rangers, even after 13 games. I think the board will leave it another five or six games and maybe after the World Cup, if it stays the same, I can see the gap getting even further."
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