There’s a well-known saying in football about not returning to a former club, but Barry Ferguson wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to take his dream job at Rangers.
Although it was clear that Ferguson was only an interim manager, he didn’t downplay the significance of the role. The Hall of Fame legend, despite inheriting a squad of mixed experiences and potential, has spoken as though the team and players are his own, despite the challenges with consistency.
With little left to fight for domestically, Ferguson’s goals were to restore pride, derail Celtic’s march to the title, and possibly extend the Europa League campaign. A couple of these objectives have been achieved, though it’s now clear that Ferguson may not have done enough to earn the permanent Rangers role.
Ferguson’s managerial resume wasn’t the reason Patrick Stewart reached out to him; it was his iconic status as a player and figurehead that Rangers fans could rally behind, trusting that his decisions would prioritize the club’s best interests. Stewart wants to hire a sporting director before appointing a new manager, with San Francisco 49ers technical director Gretar Steinsson reportedly involved in the process.
Despite the high-profile nature of the role, there hasn’t been much speculation about potential candidates for the Ibrox job. One name that likely won’t be on the list is Ferguson.
Ferguson has spoken the right words about setting standards, improving performances, and delivering what the fans deserve, but he hasn’t been able to change the issues that have persisted under previous managers. On two key occasions during his brief tenure, he failed to do so.
Ferguson oversaw what could be considered the worst performance of the season at Ibrox against Motherwell, and the result wasn’t much better against Hibs. Alarmingly, Ferguson admitted he didn’t anticipate these struggles, despite the team conceding two goals in nearly every game over the last seven.
The dramatic win over Dundee, while showing some character, didn’t tell the whole story. The hosts could have easily won by a larger margin, and no one would have disputed that. Ferguson, however, ignored Einstein’s definition of insanity by hoping that the same tactics that under Philippe Clement had failed would yield different results. Instead, domestic performances have worsened.
What went wrong for Ferguson? Much like the disastrous performance against Motherwell, Ferguson and his team failed to identify the root cause of Rangers’ struggles. Sticking to plan A, they once again faltered. Hibs, like Motherwell, were content to let Rangers’ wingers cut inside, where they faced reinforcements, while the full-backs rarely overlapped.
Ferguson now joins the list of managers like Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale, and Philippe Clement, who overcomplicated things, while Celtic continued to demonstrate a simpler, more effective approach. After missing his chance to land the Rangers job under Pedro Caixinha, Ferguson has done so again, but this time, his actions rather than his words have ruled him out of contention.
