A low-key Old Firm encounter preceded Barry Ferguson’s strongest public pitch yet to be made the Rangers manager. Nobody should be in any doubt that he can talk the talk.
Winds of change are about to blow through Ibrox. A takeover by an American investment group is close, Kevin Thelwell will arrive as the director of football and the Rangers squad will undergo a necessary overhaul. The most significant element, though, surrounds who will be leading the team by the time European qualifiers arrive in July. Steven Gerrard, Russell Martin and Sean Dyche are known to be in the frame. Ferguson, who was catapulted into the front line from ambassadorial duties, wants to see them all off. He also wants to do it quickly.
“The club need to make a decision really soon,” Ferguson said. “There have been a few bumps but that does not scare me one little bit.
“I don’t care about people’s opinions. I know I can do the job. It does not scare me one little bit. This is a challenge I would meet head on. I know I would change things.” Which is precisely what Rangers require; they are 17 points and almost 50 goals adrift of Celtic, who were champions before crossing the city. A chasm rather than a gap exists between the Old Firm.
Ferguson’s bullishness is intriguing. His managerial experience to date was at Clyde, Kelty and Alloa. The 47-year-old surely would not go out on this limb – or be allowed to – without believing he has a serious chance of landing the role. There is, however, no competitive case to keep Ferguson in situ.
Indeed, it is open to question as to whether Rangers should have bothered sacking Philippe Clement in February. Rangers are without a victory in six games and have not won at Ibrox since Ferguson was appointed. The ex-Rangers captain speaks candidly and has a clear passion for the club but there has been no real bounce in performances. The Rangers board need someone with more dugout experience, including with rebooting.
This game actually provided no case or otherwise to retain Ferguson’s services. Both teams appeared happy to settle for a point long before full time. Celtic almost snatched victory at the death, Daizen Maeda instead fluffing his lines when through on goal. Brendan Rodgers insisted he will give Maeda “leeway” with the forward spending all of last week in Japan, awaiting the birth of his third child. Indeed, Scotland’s outstanding player of the season was unusually quiet here.
Rangers had the ball in the net in the 25th minute, only for Nicolas Raskin’s header to be ruled out for offside. Officialdom could not assist Celtic seconds before the interval, Cyriel Dessers holding off Liam Scales before slotting a low finish beyond Viljami Sinisalo. Adam Idah had wasted a glorious opportunity for Celtic just a minute earlier.
Celtic responded strongly after half-time. Maeda won the break of the ball from a John Souttar clearance before laying back to Idah. The Irishman’s fierce shot deflected off Souttar and into the Rangers net. An original offside call, made against Maeda in the buildup, was overruled by the VAR and the equaliser stood.
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Ferguson and his staff appealed vociferously for a penalty after Callum McGregor tangled with Ianis Hagi. “If that happens in the middle of the pitch, it is a foul,” said Ferguson. Raskin and Hamza Igamane missed chances to claim the points for Rangers. Celtic, for all their possession, did not look particularly dangerous until Maeda marauded in stoppage time.
A banner spanning the length of the Copland Stand was unfurled immediately before kick-off. “Take aim against the rebel scum,” it read. Above this was an image of Graeme Souness with shotgun in hand. With lusty renditions of No Pope of Rome, later followed by The Billy Boys plus missiles being flung on to the pitch it was like transporting back in time.
Rangers later condemned the throwing of a bottle and in a statement added: “We acknowledge that the tifo displayed prior to kick-off crossed a line and was unacceptable. Our approach to supporter displays has always been built on trust, with the responsibility placed on groups to exercise good judgement.”
Source: theguardian.com
