Barry Ferguson railed against his doubters and insisted he is equipped to become Rangers manager on a permanent basis after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to newly-crowned champions Celtic made it six games in a row without victory for his side.
The interim manager has now won only four of his 12 matches in charge – and none at Ibrox – after Hoops forward Adam Idah cancelled out Cyriel Dessers’ first-half opener.
Despite the unflattering stats since he was handed the reins in late February, Ferguson was adamant he should not be discounted from contention to lead his boyhood club when the impending takeover by an American consortium of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises is completed.
“Everybody’s got an opinion, I don’t care about people’s opinion, I know I can do the job,” stressed Ferguson, a former Rangers captain whose previous managerial roles came at Clyde, Kelty Hearts and Alloa.
“I know I’ve got a real good staff behind me. I’ve been asked this question two or three weeks in a row, I think it’s clear, it doesn’t scare me one single bit.
“I know there’s a hell of a lot of work to be done, everybody knows that. And that’s a challenge that I would meet head on. And I know I would change it.”
Asked if he feels he has a chance of getting the job, Ferguson said: “Yeah, of course, but that’s up to people above to decide. Since I’ve come in here, there’s been a few bumps. But that does not scare me one single bit.
“I’ve been through the doors now, I know what’s needed in terms of change. So we just need to wait and see. But it has to be a decision made quickly now because we’re coming to the end of the season.”
Ferguson was “really happy with the commitment” of his team in the derby but “disappointed with just getting a point”. He challenged Vaclav Cerny to produce a positive response in training this week after the forward reacted furiously to being replaced in the second half, banging the dugout repeatedly.
“I’m the manager, I’ve got to make decisions, and if I feel I need to make changes, I’ll make changes,” he said. “I have no issue with people being disappointed.
“I would rather they’re like that than walk off with a smile on their face. He’ll need to come in next week and train really hard to try and get back into the starting 11 next Sunday.”
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was “really pleased” with his team’s performance as they avoided a third consecutive derby defeat.
“Maybe the final third of the pitch, maybe we were just short today in certain passes and making the final pass, but overall I thought we had really good control of the game,” he said.
“When you come here, you normally have 10-15 minutes where you’re really hanging on but I never felt we had that today. I’m pleased that if you can’t win it, then of course you don’t want to lose it. The players were really good.”
Celtic were backed by 2,100 of their own fans, the first time they had been in attendance at Ibrox since January 2023 after the clubs struck an agreement to allow away fans into the derby earlier this year.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Rodgers. “This game is such an iconic fixture and it’s the supporters that make it. It was brilliant to have our support in today. It always makes for the atmosphere and they can be proud of their team.”
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