Celtic legend's savage response to Barry Ferguson's appointment as Rangers boss

Jackie McNamara couldn't help but think it was a prank when he learned Barry Ferguson had been named interim Rangers boss this week.

Ferguson, alongside former teammates Neil McCann, Billy Dodds, and Allan McGregor, has been called in to navigate the team through the rest of the season following Philippe Clement's departure. His emotional comeback to Ibrox as the temporary gaffer has turned heads, especially since the 47 year-old hasn't been at the managerial helm since his stint with Alloa in 2022. And Celtic icon McNamara was left stunned.

Chatting on Open Goal, McNamara joked: "I thought it was April the 1st or something. I was surprised."

The former Scotland international teammate of Ferguson went on to say: "It's a strange one. From the outside, Barry was in an ambassador role. It's like, 'You just take it until the end of the season'.

"Doddsy has been a manager, Neil's been a manager and Greegsy is in as the goalie coach. Maybe they don't think it can get any worse from what they've seen in the last few weeks. You need a bit of passion, but you need a direction, a set-up where you know what Rangers are going to do.

"When you look at Rangers, it's a team of individuals. There are one or two decent players, but what's their structure? What are they trying to achieve? With Celtic, you know exactly what they are doing with Brendan's structure. But with Rangers, it's like, 'What are we doing? Who is going to go and win the game for us today? Is Cerny going to be the man?' It's a big job."

However, McNamara wasn't taken aback when Clement was shown the door after a tumultuous 17-month stint at Ibrox.

He said: "If he hadn't been in Europe, he would've gone earlier. When you get results like Queen's Park at home, it's hard to keep your job. To be honest, I think the writing was on the wall in the summer.

"From an outsider's perspective, he signed a new contract. You had no sporting director, no support, the players they brought in... I think he signed that contract knowing he was under pressure before he started. So that for me was all about, 'How am I going to handle this? Who is supporting me? Who is the sporting director? The head of recruitment left, the chief executive left'... it's one thing after another.

"So I think the writing was actually on the wall in the summer and then he's actually done quite well in Europe. But domestically, they've been poor. To go out of the cup and then get beat 2-0 at home to St Mirren, there's no way back from that."

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