Rangers

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Barry Ferguson has been speaking to the media for the first time since being appointed Rangers interim manager.

Here are the key points from the press conference:

• Ferguson was "surprised" to get the call but says it "only took five minutes" for him to agree to take charge.

• Despite his lack of top-level managerial experience, Ferguson "wouldn't be sitting here" if he didn't think he could do the job.

• He adds: "Did I want to get back into coaching and management? If I'm being brutally honest, I wasn't thinking about it, but when that phone call comes, there was no way I was going to turn it down."

• The former skipper wants to be judged at the end of the season but says: "I know I will be judged game by game. This is the nature of the beast here at Glasgow Rangers."

• He insists he has "not even thought" about the prospect of keeping the job long term and his full concentration is on beating Kilmarnock in his first game in charge on Wednesday.

• On what success would be between now and the end of the season, Ferguson says: "We have to try to be positive and win every single game. That's a big ask but I'm positive. We need positivity about the place. This needs to be a different Rangers team that turns up tomorrow night."

• He will demand "energy and desire" from the team and adds: "I was straightforward with the players. This is a brilliant place to be. You're lucky to be here. Look at the facilities, look at the stadium. I feel like it's going to be a good place to be."

• On bringing in former team-mates Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor to assist him, Ferguson says: "They're bubbly about the place. They're big characters, they like to get in among the boys. I think that's important because obviously the last couple of weeks has been difficult for this group of players."

• The "door is open" for young players to get first-team opportunities: "If they're good enough, I will have no issue with playing them. I will do a lot of work to try and progress these guys as footballers."

• James Tavernier will remain captain because there is no "need to change".

Image source, SNS

Rangers legend Barry Ferguson is back at Ibrox – but is he the right man to revive the club in the remainder of a torrid season?

Ferguson, along with fellow former players Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor as well as Issame Charai, who assisted the sacked Philippe Clement, has taken interim charge until summer.

A hero as a player and skipper in a career that yielded 15 trophies with Rangers, Ferguson has never coached above League One level and has been out of work for three years since an unsuccessful spell with Alloa Athletic.

However, former Rangers defender Maurice Ross believes Ferguson, 47, can be a "lightning rod" and drive standards at a club languishing 13 points behind Premiership leaders Celtic but with a Europa League last-16 tie against Fenerbahce looming.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish football podcast, Ross said of his former team-mate's appointment: "It will give a bit of excitement, a bit of energy back into the building again.

"And it's something I did notice when I've been back at the club for the last three, four months. There was a lack of Rangers people in the building. There was a lot of suits.

"When you look at the appointment in isolation, Barry's going to be the kind of lightning rod, similar to the way that Steven Gerrard was.

"I also know Neil McCann is a very capable coach. It feels like they're going back to the people that were in the building when Rangers were successful. And that comes with behaviours, attitudes, certain standard setting."

Jordan Campbell, football reporter for The Athletic, says putting Ferguson in charge can be viewed as an "easy win" by the under-pressure Rangers board to appease fans, but notes the risk involved.

"It's an easy win in the sense it gets the fans on board again," said Campbell. "But I was surprised in terms of you look at the CV … he's never coached at this level.

"When you speak to people behind the scenes, since Gerrard left, there's been a lack of authority at the club. You think of the amount of turnover there's been, with chief executives, sporting directors, they've not even replaced some of them.

"I think Ferguson coming in gives that authority. So I think for a short-term sort of culture shock it could be effective, but also you look at the experience of them coaching wise and it is a risk because let's not pretend that being a good footballer makes a good manager."

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

It was no surprise to hear Barry Ferguson admit that he thought his dream of becoming manager of his beloved Rangers had long since gone.

The 47-year-old has been out of football management since resigning as boss of part-time Alloa Athletic nearly exactly three years ago.

Ferguson's managerial journey started promisingly when he helped Blackpool avoid relegation from the Championship as caretaker player-manager, but it stalled when Clyde lost a promotion play-off final to Queen's Park and he left the following season with the Bully Wee sitting eighth in Scottish League 2.

He resurrected his reputation by leading Kelty Hearts to the Lowland League title then a play-off win over Brechin City that took the Fife club into the SPFL for the first time.

However, rather than seek a further promotion, he jumped up a league and moved the 19 miles along the road to Recreation Park only to resign before the end of his first term with Alloa sitting eighth in League 1.

Ferguson's Rangers role has more recently been as a club ambassador and appearances for legends teams in charity games, but now he has been thrust back into the spotlight as head coach until the summer.

Speaking on Rangers TV, publicly at least, he seemed to accept his role was merely to steady the ship until a permanent successor to Philippe Clement is chosen.

However, deep down, anyone in his position, especially someone who was so adored at Ibrox as a player, will be hoping to be such a success that he forces the board, or the potential new owners negotiating a takeover, to think again.

In former team-mates Neil McCann and Billy Dodds, he has certainly surrounded himself with assistants with more experience of managing at higher levels and is already promising changes to make Rangers more attack-minded.

Indeed, their first game in charge brings them head-to-head with another former Rangers player who has long been linked with the Ibrox job - Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes.

Ferguson will be hoping to match the 3-1 wins on Rangers' past two Premiership away days to cast off the blues that followed Saturday's defeat by St Mirren and led to Clement's departure.

Read all the Premiership picks

Image source, Getty Images

Interim manager Barry Ferguson's appreciation of what it takes to make Rangers successful outweighs his managerial inexperience, says former Scotland striker Kris Boyd. (Scottish Sun - subscription required), external

Ferguson will make the club's under-performing players "feel his wrath" in an attempt to reverse recent form, according to his former teammate Kirk Broadfoot. (Daily Record), external

Philippe Clement is entitled to a seven-figure pay-off after his Rangers dismissal - "significantly higher" than £1.2m - but it remains to be seen if the Belgian boss will receive a lump sum or remain on gardening leave. (Daily Record), external

Image source, SNS

Barry Ferguson has promised "you will see certain differences come Wednesday night" as the former Rangers captain expressed surprise at being appointed head coach until the end of the season.

The 47-year-old former Scotland midfielder will take charge for the first time when Rangers visit Kilmarnock - only three days after Philippe Clement was dismissed following a home defeat by St Mirren.

Ferguson will take training for the first time on Tuesday but promised that Rangers will be "attack-minded and aggressive in the press" from the off during his time in charge.

He returns to coaching three years after leaving Alloa Athletic, having also managed two other part-time sides - Clyde and Kelty Hearts - after his first experience as Blackpool caretaker.

"To be honest, I thought it would never come," Ferguson said of taking charge of a team for whom he has been a club ambassador. "I've been happy with what I've been doing the last two or three years.

"It was a job I couldn't turn down. It is only for three months, I know that, but it is my job to get a kick out of this group of players because, when I watched them, I think there are really good players there. They just seem a bit flat."

Ferguson expressed himself "proud" and "excited" to be asked to take charge and admitted he had only slept for about three hours while appointing a backroom team that includes former Rangers and Scotland team-mates Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor.

"It came out of the blue, so it has been a whirlwind 24 hours," he said. "I had to get a backroom staff together. They were in jobs elsewhere, but we got it done quicker than expected."

Ferguson added that he and his staff would ensure that the players knew that, when playing for Rangers, "you have to win every game".

Image source, SNS

As Barry Ferguson prepares to take charge of Rangers until the end of the season, BBC Scotland has taken a look back at some of his most memorable moments in a Rangers shirt.

First Rangers hattrick (2002)

On the one-year anniversary of Alex McLeish's appointment as Rangers manager, Ferguson netted his first hattrick in dark blue. The midfielder scored all three goals in Rangers' 3-0 victory over Dundee United to keep them top of the table with a 100% record at home.

Scottish Cup final v Celtic (2002)

Nothing cements a Rangers legend quite like and Old Firm goal, particularly when it's a goal in a Scottish Cup final.

Rangers already had the League Cup in the bag, while Celtic had clinched the league title, and there was one final chance for either side to get one over on the other.

John Hartson struck first at Hampden before Peter Lovenkrands levelled three minutes later. Bobo Balde had Celtic in front in the second half but up stepped Barry Ferguson to pull the Ibrox club back level and allow Lovenkrands to score the winner in the 90th minute.

Treble-winning season 02/03

At just 22 years old, Barry Ferguson was handed the captain's armband at Ibrox in 2000 by then-manager Dick Advocaat.

He became the club's youngest-ever captain and, having just helped them complete the league and cup double the previous season, was an integral member of a squad that went one better the following year.

The midfielder scored 16 goals as Rangers bagged the League Cup, Scottish Cup and Scottish Premiership title.

Rangers had to part ways with Philippe Clement as it was doing "more harm than good" to keep the Belgian in the Ibrox hot seat for any longer, says Rangers Review editor Joshua Barrie.

Clement had been under increased scrutiny following their Scottish Cup exit to Queen's Park, and the loss at the weekend to St Mirren proved to be the tipping point and led to the board making the decision.

Their domestic football was often sub-par, and despite a decent set of European results, they failed to break sides down in the league with many fans lamenting the style of play.

"This was a domestic template that was not working and Rangers wanted to keep Clement in place for Europe because he's done well there," Barrie said on the Scottish Football Podcast.

"I think it was getting to a point where more harm than good was being done and that's why they've made this call despite very publicly admitting that they did not want to make it before the end of the season.

"Rangers were not a team under Clement that could dominate with the ball. They were a team who could set the tempo of a game off the ball and that's why they looked good in Europe.

"But when you gave Rangers a ball, like St Mirren did at the weekend, and they're very well organised, the majority of games Rangers face and say, can you create space? Can you break us down? The answer was no, and ultimately, that's the game that Rangers play 60, 70 per cent of the time.

"There's a fundamental issue at the root of what he was trying to do, and at the root of what I think Rangers need to try and be successful domestically."

Image source, SNS

Barry Ferguson has returned to the club where he won five league titles and 15 trophies over two spells. A homecoming for a former hero, tasked with steadying a shakey ship and seeing this season out.

Fans had been desperate to see more fight on the park, with some probably wishing they had a few Barry-Ferguson-types in the middle of the park over the last few months, if not years.

His first taste of management came in 2014 when he took charge of Blackpool after Paul Ince's dismissal, on an interim basis.

The club were teetering on the brink of relegation, and while they only won three out of 20 games under the former Scotland midfielder, they did avoid the drop by two points before he left the club.

In June of that year, he was appointed as player-manager of League Two side Clyde, with his retirement from playing coming in April of 2015. During his second spell at Clyde, he guided them to the playoffs and thumped Elgin over two legs, but lost 3-2 on aggregate as they remained in the fourth tier.

Come February 2017, he resigned, with the Bully Wee sitting eighth in Scottish League Two.

The Cumbernauld side had not won a league match since November and had lost eight of their last 10 games in the division.

His next managerial role came in 2018 when he joined Kelty Hearts and, in the 2019-20 season, they won the title after it was curtailed due to Covid-19 but were not awarded with a play-off spot to break into the SPFL due to the early finish of the campaign.

The following season, Ferguson did indeed guide them into the SPFL for the first time in their history, as they completed a 3-1 aggregate win over Brechin City to seal their place in League Two.

A short stint followed at League 1 strugglers Alloa Athletic before he resigned in 2022 after the Clackmannanshire side managed to win just two games in 15.

Ferguson's managerial record is not of the calibre that many would expect an incoming Rangers manager to have. There is no continental experience and outwith that Kelty playoff win, there is little in the way of tangible success.

However, he is loved by the fans and will be viewed as someone who understands the demands of playing for Rangers — something the board, and fans alike, will want him to quickly transfer to the current crop of players at Ibrox.

Barry Ferguson has been appointed interim Rangers manager following Philippe Clement's departure, with Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor assisting the former club captain.

The ex-Rangers and Scotland team-mates' first game in the dugout will be Wednesday's Scottish Premiership trip to Kilmarnock (20:00 GMT).

Assistant manager Issame Charai led training on Monday and is also confirmed to be remaining at the club.

Rangers fans, what do you make of this move by the club in the wake of Philippe Clement's departure? Give us your thoughts here. , external

Image source, SNS

Philippe Clement's time at Rangers often saw him give illuminating answers in his post-match interviews, revealing rebuttals at press conferences, with fans often bristling at his choice of words.

Here are a few of the key quotes from the Belgian time in charge at Ibrox.

After winning the League Cup against Aberdeen in December 2023 he declared more was to come from his side in terms of winning silverware.

"That's why I do this job, to share it with players, staff and fans. I get my energy from that. It's an incredible evening.

"It's great to get our hands on silverware after just nine weeks together. There's not one fan or board member who is more demanding to win than me. That's my character. I know with the mentality that is growing that we can do really good things this season."

After drawing 3-3 with Celtic in April 2024 Clement set alarm bells ringing, claiming his side were "moral" winner despite an Old Firm draw.

"I think at the end we are moral winners of this afternoon because a few months ago, for sure, this team could not have reacted after 2-0 in an Old Firm.

"For me, it is important, we showed what we are about in the second half, so that's why we are the moral winners in that way, to come back after 0-2, I don't think it happened too much in Old Firm games."

Rangers followed up that Old Firm draw with defeat against Ross County, and then a drab goalless draw with Dundee, however the then-manager insisted his players did show him a reaction.

"Yes, they gave a reaction," he said.

"We didn't get the result we wanted. We were the only team to deserve this result this evening in the possession, in the chances also. The clear chances. But you need to put the ball against the net. And you also need some luck sometimes.

Rangers fell behind early in the current season, sitting fourth after four games, and five points of leaders Celtic. Clement remained "totally convinced" they could still win the title, though.

He said: "There are 34 games to go, so I'm totally convinced of that."

Come October of this season, he was already having to fight fires and constantly faced questions about his future and if he could turn it around at Ibrox. As ever, though, he remained determined that he was still the right man for the job.

He said: "The fans will see in the next months that this team will improve and we know we will have the backing. We understand the fans need to see things on the pitch, we were not happy about Sunday.

"We will keep on working hard to improve things as fast as possible."

With a double-header looming against Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic, Clement suggested his side weren't in the same league financially with the two sides.

"Of course, they are totally different kind of games," he told Sky Sports.

"Maybe, we need to say financially out of our league, the two games.

"But we are going to compete. It's a really nice challenge for our squad to show themselves in these games and what we can do against those teams."

Clement claimed the board were "200%" behind him despite the club languishing 15 points adrift of Premiership leaders Celtic in mid-January after a 1-1 draw with Dundee, Rangers' fourth away game in a row without victory.

Asked if he was confident that the board, which has a new chief executive in Patrick Stewart, are still behind him 100%, Clement said: "Yes, 200%.

"We have talks every day about everything, about January, about next season, about everything. Yes, of course the fans are unhappy. We are also unhappy, all of us are unhappy, to lose these three points.

Jamie Currie
Fan writer

They couldn't let this carry on.

It seems the board's patience ran out last night after Rangers meekly fell to their second home defeat in a row against St Mirren.

I've always felt Clement was dealt a bad hand in the summer by this board and I stand by that, but this was never working.

When we went nine points behind Aberdeen, they should have acted, then the Queen's Park debacle afterwards. But this has been a collective failure.

It's easy to constantly go after the manager, and he's been rightly sacked, but this board, or should I say whoever made these mistakes, are equally to blame.

Let's be honest, we are limping along until the end of the season, and frankly, I don't think it matters who the current board puts in charge as we have little to play for.

And as we know now, whatever this board do, in terms of the football team, will be wrong, it will end up being a mess, and hopefully Clement will be their final permanent managerial appointment.

Talk of a US takeover is rife and the quicker they get this deal over the line and get the current board far and away from the blue room the better.

It may sound extremely harsh and people will rightly point out the good they have done, but they have wasted millions trying to fix their own mistakes.

Rangers men, absolutely. Businessmen, yes. Running a football club, absolutely not.

I've said a million times in these columns, the summer can't come quick enough.

We need something new, we need something to get behind and most of all we need change.

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Just six months on from penning a contract extension at Ibrox, Philippe Clement has been sacked by Rangers.

"What is the reason not to go for a longer story together?" asked Clement after committing to the Rangers job until 2028 this summer.

And things started well. Despite their opening day draw with Hearts, Clement's side went into the first Old Firm of the campaign just two points behind their Glasgow rivals.

A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brendan Rodgers showed the first cracks appearing. But things picked up again and until the end of October Rangers were within touching distance of their Glasgow rivals.

Fast forward and a defeat to high-flying Aberdeen coupled with a 1-1 draw against Dundee United meant Rangers were eight points behind Celtic with a massive League Cup final on the horizon.

Rangers put a shift in and looked like the hungrier side, coming from behind twice in normal time, to force Celtic into extra time and then penalties. Ridvan Yilmaz's missed spot-kick handed their rivals the trophy but it seemed there was progress being made in Govan.

Draws with St Mirren and Motherwell sandwiched a 3-0 Old Firm victory at Ibrox which was clouded by the 10-point gap that still existed to the league leaders.

In the background, the Glasgow club were ticking along nicely in Europe. A draw with Tottenham and a narrow defeat to Man United didn't stop them from securing an automatic spot in the last 16.

Domestically though it's been far from impressive. Rangers sit 13 points behind Celtic at the top of the table, their last hope of any success in Scotland, the Scottish Cup, was ended in historic fashion by Queen's Park at Ibrox.

Saturday's defeat to St Mirren was the final nail in Clement's coffin.

Rangers had the chance to make a dent in the 13-point gap to Celtic after their defeat to Hibs at Easter Road.

Despite 65% possession, 17 shots on goal and 26 touches in the opposition box, two of St Mirren's six shots on target hit the back of the net and ultimately sent Clement packing.

And that pretty much summed up the latter stages of his time in charge - lots of possession but struggling to do anything concrete with it as well as an inability to be clinical in front of goal and even a complacency with being second best on the pitch.

Image source, SNS

Former captain Barry Ferguson will be offered the chance to lead Rangers as manager for the rest of the season. (Record), external

Ferguson will meet with Rangers on Monday. (Talksport), external

Fellow ex-Ibrox players Neil McCann and Billy Dodds are linked with joining Ferguson at Rangers. (Sky Sports), external

Russell Martin, briefly a defender at Rangers, is a serious contender to replace Philippe Clement as manager. (Sun), external

Rangers have decided against approaching Martin. (GIVEMESPORT), external

Steven Gerrard was the early favourite to be appointed Rangers manager, with the former Ibrox boss a free agent after leaving Al-Ettifaq. (Sun), external

Norwich City first-team coach Jack Wilshere is in the running for the Ibrox vacancy. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Alex Rae, Kevin Thomson and current Rangers assistant Issame Charai are also linked with the Rangers dugout. (Sun), external

Mikael Mandron felt St Mirren were "definitely" going to get the opportunity to down Rangers before he scored the opener in the Paisley side's 2-0 Ibrox win on Saturday. (Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

Well Rangers fans, what do you think of the news that Philippe Clement has been sacked following the 2-0 loss to St Mirren?

Tell us your emotions, and who you think should replace the Belgian at the helm of the Ibrox club.

Let us know your thoughts here, external.

Watch the Sportscene panel discuss Philippe Clement following Rangers' 2-0 Scottish Premiership defeat by St Mirren.

Watch the Sportscene panel analyse Rangers' poor performance.