Barry Ferguson believes Rangers showed what they can do when they listen to him with their thumping 4-0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox.
The former Gers captain, installed as boss in February until the end of the season, had complained about the players not adhering to instructions in the 2-2 draw at St Mirren which came before last week’s more encouraging 1-1 home draw with champions Celtic.
Ferguson was looking for his first Ibrox win in the six matches since taking over and Rangers’ first victory in seven games. Vaclav Cerny opened the scoring in the 55th minute before further goals from striker Cyriel Dessers, substitute Hamza Igamane and left-back Jefte wrapped up victory.
Asked if he could see what this Rangers team can be like when it clicks, Ferguson said: “Yeah, I see when they listen as well. They can be a good team.
“As I said, going back to the game last Sunday, their commitment and attitude has always been really good for me. I can never label that against them.
“It’s just the quality at times. So we worked really hard during the week on things that we can get better at.
“And it was just nice to see things happen when you work with things on the training ground.
“But I had to remind them at half-time, that we need to be better. We need to threaten Aberdeen.
“And once we got that first goal, I felt there was a calmness about us. And we started to play the way that I know the boys can.
“And I thought in the end we ran over the top of Aberdeen. Just disappointed it was only four. I thought it could have been more.”
Nicolas Raskin was stadium man-of-the match and former Scotland and Gers midfielder Ferguson admits he sees a lot of himself in the Belgium international.
He said: “Yeah, too much of myself. That’s why I argue with him. But he’s got an opinion, I don’t mind people with opinions.
“I just think if he works on things that we speak about, he’s got a real chance of playing at the top.
“Nico will tell you he wants to be a number six. I think he can be a number six, but also I think he needs to add different attributes to his game. I think he can play further forward. And it’s good to have that flexibility.
“He’s got really good ability, there’s no doubt. And I think he’s, certainly from the turn of the year, his levels of performance have been up there.”
With two William Hill Premiership fixtures remaining, Scottish Gas Scottish Cup finalists Aberdeen remain three points behind third-placed Hibernian.
Boss Jimmy Thelin was unhappy with the way his side responded to losing the first goal.
He said: “We had a long talk inside the dressing room after the game and I think performance-wise after the first goal, it’s like we’re not a collective team anymore, we play as individuals and it was way too easy to arrive to our goal with just a few passes.
“You have to take responsibility and try to discipline these moments.”
Asked if the upcoming cup final against Celtic affected his players, he said: “I hope not, because we know where we are in the league. There’s so much to play for here, and you never know what’s going to happen in the future.
“You have to be, as a player, as a team, as a manager, you have to take it game by game, because it’s always about performance.
“If someone thinks about the cup finals already, then the folks are in the wrong place, and they’re not going to perform well.”
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