Can former hero Ferguson help Rangers despite lacklustre managerial record?

Barry Ferguson has returned to the club where he won five league titles and 15 trophies over two spells. A homecoming for a former hero, tasked with steadying a shakey ship and seeing this season out.

Fans had been desperate to see more fight on the park, with some probably wishing they had a few Barry-Ferguson-types in the middle of the park over the last few months, if not years.

His first taste of management came in 2014 when he took charge of Blackpool after Paul Ince's dismissal, on an interim basis.

The club were teetering on the brink of relegation, and while they only won three out of 20 games under the former Scotland midfielder, they did avoid the drop by two points before he left the club.

In June of that year, he was appointed as player-manager of League Two side Clyde, with his retirement from playing coming in April of 2015. During his second spell at Clyde, he guided them to the playoffs and thumped Elgin over two legs, but lost 3-2 on aggregate as they remained in the fourth tier.

Come February 2017, he resigned, with the Bully Wee sitting eighth in Scottish League Two.

The Cumbernauld side had not won a league match since November and had lost eight of their last 10 games in the division.

His next managerial role came in 2018 when he joined Kelty Hearts and, in the 2019-20 season, they won the title after it was curtailed due to Covid-19 but were not awarded with a play-off spot to break into the SPFL due to the early finish of the campaign.

The following season, Ferguson did indeed guide them into the SPFL for the first time in their history, as they completed a 3-1 aggregate win over Brechin City to seal their place in League Two.

A short stint followed at League 1 strugglers Alloa Athletic before he resigned in 2022 after the Clackmannanshire side managed to win just two games in 15.

Ferguson's managerial record is not of the calibre that many would expect an incoming Rangers manager to have. There is no continental experience and outwith that Kelty playoff win, there is little in the way of tangible success.

However, he is loved by the fans and will be viewed as someone who understands the demands of playing for Rangers — something the board, and fans alike, will want him to quickly transfer to the current crop of players at Ibrox.