Barry Ferguson has stepped into the role of interim manager at Rangers, with the immediate challenge of restoring pride to the club as they face Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic, who are chasing yet another treble.
While Ferguson may not be able to stop Celtic’s pursuit of a sixth treble in nine years, he has the opportunity to reignite a sense of pride and determination within the Rangers squad.
With two Old Firm derbies on the horizon, Ferguson is set to go head-to-head with Rodgers at both Parkhead and Ibrox, putting this struggling Rangers team to the test.
When Ferguson squares off against the Celtic boss, he will have the chance to validate comments he made about Rodgers back in 2018. At the time, Ferguson labeled Rodgers as “lucky” following a dramatic 3-2 victory for Celtic over Rangers.
Barry Ferguson branded Brendan Rodgers ‘lucky’ in 2018:
Writing for the Daily Record, Barry Ferguson criticized Brendan Rodgers for what he called a fortunate 3-2 win over Rangers at Celtic Park. The match saw Rangers suffer a heartbreaking defeat after Odsonne Edouard scored a late winner, despite Celtic being reduced to 10 men following Jozo Simunovic’s red card.
Ferguson dismissed the idea that Rodgers’ tactical substitutions were the key to Celtic’s victory, instead attributing the result to luck.
“The only real difference between Celtic and Rangers on the day was a massive slice of good fortune,” wrote Ferguson in his column.
”Yes, Rodgers has taken all the plaudits because of the decisions he made in the second half. And who am I to disagree?
“I take my hat off to the guy because, as a manager, he is different class. But what happened next was also incredibly lucky and he’s fortunate it all went his way because had Rangers won 3-2 it would have been him and not Murty who has spent the last week under fire.”
Rangers manager insists Celtic counterpart ‘no genius’:
Ferguson went further in his critique, questioning Rodgers’ tactical decisions during the Old Firm clash. He argued that the 3-2 defeat had more to do with luck than Rodgers being a tactical mastermind.
”Why did he start with Dedryck Boyata and a back three when this was always going to be the most vulnerable part of his team?
“Why then change a midfielder for a striker with the game in the balance?
“Rodgers would have had to find answers to some seriously difficult questions but he was spared from that because the gods were smiling on him.
“That wasn’t down to Rodgers being a genius, that was down to sheer luck.”
With two Old Firm matches still to play this season, Barry Ferguson now has the opportunity to back up his past comments as he faces Brendan Rodgers in the dugout. These high-stakes encounters will test whether Ferguson can translate his words into action and deliver a much-needed boost for Rangers.
