Rangers

San Francisco 49ers Enterprises have no plans for an instant overhaul of the Rangers hierarchy should their takeover go ahead and will keep chief executive Patrick Stewart and chairman Fraser Thornton in their roles. (Daily Mail)

Rangers legend Graeme Souness has welcomed news of potential backing from the 49ers, saying "it doesn't guarantee anything, but it would be good news". (Scottish Sun)

Bologna and Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson says being rejected by Rangers gave him the "motivational fuel" to succeed. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Head coach Jose Mourinho has been offered a new deal at Fenerbahce days before their Europa League meeting with Rangers. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Monday's gossip.

Sportscene pundits Cammy Bell and Michael Stewart analyse Jack Butland's error in Rangers' loss against Motherwell.

Watch all the highlights from Motherwell's 2-1 win at Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

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We asked for your views on Rangers' 2-1 defeat against Motherwell.

Here's what some of you said:

Paul: The end of the season can't come quick enough to clear out this underperforming Rangers team and start fresh. Give the managerial position to Barry Ferguson full time, then we will see a team of proven fighters, diehards and winners, with the manager setting the standards from his own successful playing career at the club.

Duncan: The team are very lethargic, lacking in positivity. I don't see this pool of players being able to bring the result expectations of a Rangers team. New players are badly required.

Alan: The team have no spirit, fight, determination and no leader on the park. Ferguson may regret taking this job on, but the team needs players who want to win. The current squad do not appear to have any desire to win.

Sue: We can see why Jack Butland was never quite good enough, a lot of loan periods in the league and a brief international career and never near good enough at Manchester United. Can we not just bring Allan McGregor back out of retirement as he is far superior than Butland will ever be, Butland is always a mistake waiting to happen.

Lennie: Absolutely disgraceful performance again, if we play James Tavernier and Robin Propper on Thursday night, we will get slaughtered. Ianis Hagi was awful, we send out young Leon King on loan, he is a better player than those who played in the defence. Ferguson is not a magician, give youth a chance, our season is over anyway.

Rab: Dreadful performance, no visible change of tactics or approach from the previous managerial regime. The team lacked the ability to deal with a simple high press employed by Motherwell, nothing came from the coaching team to counter this, some of whom were critical of the previous manager.

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• Rangers have scored in 25 of their 29 games, only Celtic (26) have scored goals in more matches in the Premiership this season.

• Cyriel Dessers has scored 11 goals in the Premiership this season (1 in this game), no Rangers player has more.

• Václav Černý has created 64 chances this season, more than any other player in the Premiership.

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Rangers interim manager Barry Ferguson told BBC Scotland: "Really disappointed. I never saw it coming, but there's clearly a problem in terms of playing at home. That's something we need to get to the bottom of.

"There was a real lack of energy. Second half, they came back a wee bit but I had to make a few changes to make that happen. Overall, it's not good enough. There's no way I'm going to say otherwise.

"I said to the players 'the fans will go with you if you show passion' and I didn't see as much of that as I wanted to.

"I'm going to give it everything to try and solve the problem. I'm positive I will fix it.

"There are good players, technically. To play at Rangers you need to be mentally strong."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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The script was written, then brutally ripped up.

Barry Ferguson's return brought a tangible level of positivity pre-match. The expected response from the players simply did not materialise.

Once again, they failed to deliver.

This is a storyline that has been regurgitated way too often and having now lost three consecutive matches at Ibrox, to Queens Park, St Mirren and now Motherwell, serious questions must surely be being asked within the club.

There will be questions about the Cyriel Dessers VAR decision but, in truth, the level of performance was not good enough.

Ferguson called for his players to be dominant and stamp their authority but they were inexplicably flat. Duals were lost. Passing was slack. Poor, poor errors made.

With a trip to Jose Mourinho's Fenerbache to follow, Rangers will simply hope the team that competes so well at Europa League level, turns up.

Three home defeats in a row... Is the Barry Ferguson audition all over already?

Rangers fans, let us know what you made of the performance at Ibrox.

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Rangers defender Leon King has joined Queen's Park on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 21-year-old centre-half has been limited to one start this season, with an injury forcing him off after just 14 minutes of the home Europa League win over Union St Gilloise in late January.

King, capped five times for Scotland at under-21 level, had previously made four appearances from the bench this term.

Having made his debut in the League Cup in November 2020, King got his first taste of the Premiership in May 2021.

In season 2022-23, he featured in 23 matches, playing all six of Rangers' Champions League group games.

Queen's Park, who knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup in February, sit seventh in the second tier, eight points behind fourth-placed Partick Thistle.

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Rangers quartet John Souttar, Oscar Cortes, Leon Balogun and Dujon Sterling all returned to training this week. Neraysho Kasanwirjo remains out.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Marvin Kaleta are pushing for returns for Motherwell.

Shane Blaney, Sam Nicholson (both knee), Jack Vale (Achilles), Steve Seddon (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh), Zach Robinson (Achilles) and goalkeepers Archie Mair and Aston Oxborough (both hand) remain out.

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Robin Propper says central defensive partner Clinton Nsiala will "easily" bounce back from his first-half substitution against Kilmarnock.

Nsiala, 21, who only made his senior debut last month after signing from AC Milan in the summer, was replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz after hour an hour at Rugby Park as Rangers trailed 2-0 before roaring back for a 4-2 win.

"Everybody talked to him," said Dutch defender Propper.

"It's part of football. I think in the first 10-15 minutes, the gaffer could have changed everyone.

"It's part of it. We help him in that case. Everybody's talking to him.

"In the last two training sessions, you see he's there, he's working hard and trying to do his best. He's such a good player. He will easily go on from this.

"Everybody's learning, us as well. We need to take care of him. We need to help him. He needs to help us. It's a two-way street."

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Barry Ferguson has praised "real leader" James Tavernier as the captain prepares to make his 500th Rangers appearance this weekend.

The 33-year-old right, who joined from Wigan 10 years ago, will reach the milestone when Motherwell visit Ibrox in Ferguson's first home game as interim boss.

"I think it's an unbelievable achievement," Ferguson said. "Listen, he's been through a lot in his Rangers career, but one thing I will say about James Tavernier is he never hides.

"He's always put himself out there to play. And I thought on Wednesday night [at Kilmarnock], when I moved him from his natural right-back position into the centre-half, he was exceptional. I thought he became a real leader.

"And that's what I want from my captain. As I said, we've had a few good chats. He's an important player for me. And as I said, tomorrow, 500 games, he deserves a lot of credit for that."

Tavernier has come in for criticism at times from the Rangers support, with his Ibrox career coinciding with a period of domestic dominance by Celtic.

"That's part of playing at Rangers," said Ferguson.

"When you suffer defeats or you don't play well, it's generally the captain that gets it in the neck. But listen, he's big enough to handle those situations. I've been through it as well.

"It's not nice at times, but I'm afraid that's the nature of the beast when you play at Rangers."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Barry Ferguson has been speaking to the media before his first home game in charge of Rangers, against Motherwell this weekend.

Here are the key points from the interim Ibrox boss:

• Leon Balogun, John Souttar and Dujon Sterling all trained on Friday and could be available for selection, with Ferguson saying: "It was great to have them back as we're pretty light defensively. I will touch base with the medical team in the morning."

• On his home debut: "It is a proud moment but the focus isn't on me - I only care about getting my team getting results."

• Ferguson praised James Tavernier's "unbelievable achievement" as the skipper prepares to make his 500th Rangers appearance on Saturday, saying: "He never hides - he is always available to play. He was a real leader when he moved position midweek, that is what I want from my captain."

• The Ibrox boss is delighted Rangers fans can attend the upcoming Old Firm derby at Celtic Park: "It is something the fixture has missed. In an ideal world, there would be more, but I'm just glad our fans will be in the stadium."

• Ferguson says it has been too easy for opposition teams at Ibrox in recent months, Rangers have been too "timid" and he wants them to be more "dominant", adding: "You will see a different Rangers team, that is for sure."

• On the challenge Motherwell will pose: "You've got to be respectful that the new manager's in. He's playing slightly different. But my main focus is on how we approach a game. We're at Ibrox, remember? We're in front of 50-odd thousand fans. There's expectations and demands."

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• This will be Barry Ferguson's first home league game as Rangers manager. The Ibrox side have won each of the past eight occasions a manager has taken charge of his first home league match since Stuart McCall drew 1-1 with Livingston in the Scottish Championship in March 2015. The last to lose his first such match was Tommy McLean in November 1983 (2-1 v Celtic).

• Rangers have lost just one of their past 60 league meetings with Motherwell (W43 D16), a 2-1 reverse at home in March 2024.

• Motherwell have only won once in their past 40 away league games against Rangers (D7 L32), losing their first such visit this season 2-1 in August.

• Motherwell have lost their past three away league matches, last losing four on the bounce in December 2017 (run of five).

• James Tavernier is one away from his 500th appearance for Rangers in all competitions. Since his debut for the club in July 2015, the right-back has featured in 92.4% of Rangers' matches (499/540).

Rangers say the upcoming Europa League tie with Fenerbahce in Turkey on 6 March will be a "challenging trip" for travelling supporters. (Herald - subscription required), external

Steven Naismith never saw his former Rangers team-mate Allan McGregor moving into goalkeeping coaching, with McGregor back at Ibrox as part of interim head coach Barry Ferguson's backroom team. (Sun), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

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Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers believes "legend" Barry Ferguson's knowledge of the club will benefit the team as they look to build on his debut victory.

The Nigeria international scored two in Rangers' 4-2 comeback win against Kilmarnock, Ferguson's first game in charge as interim boss.

"I see that he [Ferguson] is in the hall of fame and I know what he did for the club, five league titles, five Scottish Cups, all these things, so that speaks for itself," Dessers said.

"He's a big name at this club, a big personality and it's good that he's around now. He knows the club through and through, he knows what the fans want, what the club is all about, and he is just trying to bring that to us.

"Obviously, some guys have been around for a long time as well and they know it as well but I think it's good to hear it from him."

Ferguson was a club ambassador before he stepped in to replace Philippe Clement until the end of the season.

"He's a Rangers legend and with all the staff, we have some [former] players who have been very important for Rangers and they know the club, they know the little things, they know how the fans feel so that's also what they try to bring to the group," Dessers said.

"That's what we try to take from them, learn from that and try to convert it on the pitch."

It looked like a nightmare start for Ferguson as Rangers went 2-0 down early on before a fightback sparked by the first-half substitution of 21-year-old defender Clinton Nsiala.

"We have got his back, he doesn't need to worry about that," Dessers said of his team-mate.

He added: "That's football. I think everybody in this dressing room has been in that situation before in his career.

"He's very young, I don't think he even has 10 professional games so he still has things to learn, but we see his quality every day and he'll be fine, he'll learn from this."

We asked for your thoughts on the 4-2 comeback win over Kilmarnock in Barry Ferguson's first game in charge of Rangers.

Here's what some of you said:

Dougie: Great fightback. Some leadership at last. In the 74th minute I actually saw the management team talking tactics and formations. In the 90th minute, I again saw the manager shouting orders - been a long time since I saw that.

Bill: The difference between this game and the weekend was at 2-0, Philippe Clement's team would have capitulated. Ferguson saw the young centre-back was being bullied and outmuscled and made a change. This was the catalyst for the revival. With a strong defence, the team could go forward with confidence. The previous manager would have persevered and failed.

Alexander: I was dreading the rest of the game after Killie's blistering start, enabled by our non-existent defending. The spirit and character came after the substitution and the first goal. A much-improved performance and really good comeback result is to be applauded, however, the defence still worries me a lot. There are hard games to come but a good start.

James: What a difference a new manager makes. Early days but after a shaky start it's the best game I have seen since the derby. With Ferguson at the helm, and the new takeover, the good old days are just around the corner.

Ralph: Given the amount of time Ferguson has had with the players, it would have been harsh to blame him had they lost. I honestly believe Rangers would have lost this match under Clement, so already the new manager has made a difference. The defence is a nightmare and must be a priority moving forward.

Darren: I'm delighted the club finally has real Rangers men back leading from the dugout. It was refreshing to see Ferguson's and Neil McCann's passion on the touchline. You can already see that rubbing off on the players. I wouldn't bet against them staying after the three months.

Barry Ferguson's first game at the Rangers helm was laden with drama as his side fell two goals down in an abysmal start at Kilmarnock before roaring back for a 4-2 win.

Here's what the experts made of it...

BBC Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English

Kilmarnock will be kicking themselves – they could have been three or four ahead before the comeback. Rangers have dug themselves out of not a hole, but a crater given the way they were defending. Fair play to them for that.

They were resilient and played really well second half, got a lot of confidence going. But that defence is a nightmare. They can't get John Souttar and Leon Balogun back quickly enough.

Former Scotland striker James McFadden

Ferguson, Neil McCann and Billy Dodds were absolutely loving it at the end there.

They've come into an extremely difficult situation, so it's quite right they lap it up. Rangers looked stronger as the game went on, they didn't wither.

Former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton

A phenomenal turnaround. It looked like it was going to be a disastrous start for the new management team.

Kilmarnock couldn't have produced a more blistering start but Rangers' response showed real character.