THE wisdom of adding Barry Ferguson to Pedro Caixinha’s backroom team at Ibrox has been questioned by many Rangers fans in recent days due to his far from auspicious stint in the dugout at Clyde.
Ferguson left Broadwood last month after two-and-a-half seasons in charge with his side sitting in third bottom spot in Ladbrokes League Two. So why, many have asked, is he being considered for a coaching role at his former club?
The 39-year-old is one of the Scottish coaches – John Brown, Neil McCann, Lee McCulloch and Alex Rae are among the others – who Caxinha is currently contemplating bringing in to help him in Glasgow.
Scott Linton, the Clyde defender- cum-midfielder, believes that opting for the one-time Rangers captain would be an inspired decision by the newly appointed Portuguese manager.
Linton was persuaded to move from Championship club Dumbarton to League Two outfit Clyde by Ferguson at the start of last season and has not, despite the difficulties they are experiencing this term, regretted his decision once.
The 27-year-old enjoyed working under the rookie manager, who led Clyde to third place in the fourth tier table last season and then took them through to the play-off final, and stressed that he would bring a lot of positive attributes to Rangers.
“I know the position that Clyde are in in the table at the moment doesn’t look fantastic,” he said. “Anyone looking in from the outside might think Barry didn’t do a great job here. But he did a massive amount of good work behind the scenes.
“I played all of last season under Barry and this season up until he left. It was a great experience. He was the reason why I dropped down from Dumbarton to Clyde in League Two. The fact that he was in charge convinced me to make the move.
“I liked the desire that he showed, the will to win he had. We met up and had a chat for a good hour and I decided that the pros outweighed the cons.
“I thought: ‘If there’s anyone I am going to learn from it’s the ex-Scotland and ex-Rangers captain’. I have always found, having played under many different managers, that it is good to work with somebody who has enjoyed a decent career.
“You learn so much just from sitting and listening to them. You pick up the things which stood them in good stead in their own playing days. I have worked under Danny Lennon, Jimmy Nicholl, Colin Cameron and Ian Murray. But Barry is probably the manager who I have had who has enjoyed the best career.” Linton added: “I was really, really impressed with a lot of the aspects of his managerial style and with many of the qualities which he brought to the role.
“The first thing that struck me about Barry when I started playing under him at Clyde was his sheer will to win. I always used to tell anyone who asked me what he was like was that it was just outrageous how much he wanted to win, to win anything.
“When he was standing there in the dressing room before a game he was more up for the match than some of the players were. His desire and his passion were incredible.”
Linton, who is currently sidelined with a hernia injury, feels that Ferguson’s methods may be better suited to a top-flight club and has predicted he will not be overawed in the slightest the demands there will be on Caixinha to succeed at Rangers. “He knows what is required to succeed at Rangers having been there as a player before. I think they will be bringing in the right man if they do go for him.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here