BARRY FERGUSON left Rangers 15 years ago and a lot has changed since then.
But one thing that remains the same is the need to win – so how will Ferguson go about doing that now he has been installed as the club’s head coach until the end of the season?
Barry Ferguson has plenty to think about ahead of his first game as Rangers boss[/caption]
Ahead of his first match in charge against Kilmarnock, SunSport has examined the changes the former Gers captain could make to transform the team and its stuttering form.
We have already put Ferguson’s managerial record to date under the microscope and it’s now a question of what has he learned from those stints and from watching the current Rangers side of late.
The 47-year-old has promised the Ibrox faithful a more attacking team for starters, something that will be music to the fans’ ears.
Change of shape?
One way to do that would be to change the formation.
Philippe Clement preferred a 4-3-3, usually with only one single attacking midfielder.
He alternated between using two sitting midfielders, such as Nico Raskin and Connor Barron, with playing one man deeper and another as the link man in a more orthodox number eight role.
Looking back at Ferguson’s most recent job at Alloa (albeit it was three years ago), he often used variants of a 4-3-3.
Ferguson took over a team that had just been relegated from the Championship but nonetheless they weren’t firing on all cylinders before he left in February. The Wasps eventually finished fifth in the table.
In his first game of the season against Peterhead he used a straight 4-2-3-1 with two deeper midfield players and toyed with a back three in his next two league games.
But over the course of the season he settled on a more attack-minded 4-3-3, with two box-to-box midfielders ahead of a sitter as opposed to relying on a playmaker in the number ten role.
Such a formation would likely get the best out of Mohamed Diomande.
Ferguson almost exclusively used a 4-2-3-1 during his final year at previous club Kelty Hearts, the season in which they won promotion to League Two.
At Clyde however he frequently deployed two strikers up top, most often in a 4-4-2 but on the odd occasion in a 3-5-2.
A 4-3-3 would perhaps allow Rangers to dominate possession more at Rugby Park – and indeed in most games.
But Ferguson’s previous affinity to 4-4-2 as a player and manager could inspire him to put opposition centre-backs under the cosh by pushing two strikers up high and pin them inside their own final third, backed up by supporting runs from midfield which could again play to Diomande’s favour.
It’s worth noting as well that that approach paid dividends for Hearts last month, who put three goals past Kilmarnock whilst playing with two up top.
Don’t count out Dessers
Rangers fans saw brief glimpses of Hamza Igamane and Danilo playing as a front two this season but don’t be surprised to see Cyriel Dessers lead the line with Igamane if Ferguson decides to roll out the 4-4-2.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show back in January, Ferguson defended Dessers amid calls for him to be sold in the transfer window.
Ferguson admires Cyriel Dessers for his work ethic[/caption]
He said: “I know he comes in for a lot of criticism, but I spoke about it last week, one thing the big man gives you is 100 per cent.
“He’s scored two goals in two games, 22 goals last year, and I don’t think you can get rid of him.
“I know Rangers still need in my eyes another number nine to come in for competition, but I like the big man’s attitude, sometimes he lacks that bit of quality, but if he had that quality he’d be playing somewhere else in a different league.”
One thing the big man gives you is 100 per cent.”
Barry Ferguson on Cyriel Dessers
With maximum effort going to be one of Ferguson’s main demands, perhaps the answer is to pair Dessers and his work rate with Igamane’s ingenuity and flair, using Danilo as a threat off the bench.
Who supports the strikers?
If Ferguson goes with one striker his comments on Dessers suggest the Gers No9 may be the man given his work rate, perhaps with Igamane off to his left.
Nedim Bajrami has struggled to make a consistent impact since his move to Rangers in the summer and Clement chopped and changed his position, sometimes using him as a winger and other times as a ten and it’s understood Ferguson believes he is best suited to the latter role.
Ferguson has long been an admirer of Ianis Hagi too – once likening him to ex-Ger Ronald de Boer – so a decision between Bajrami and Hagi could come down to how they’ve looked in training the past couple of days.
Tom Lawrence has been on the outside looking in for months and while Ferguson could offer him a clean slate, it’s unlikely he’d be thrust back into the starting line-up here unless he’s balled out in training.
Giving youth a chance
The other big question for Ferguson and his aides Billy Dodds, Neil McCann, Allan McGregor and Issame Charai will be who to drop from the current starting XI, and who could be given a fresh opportunity to impress.
Ferguson knows better than anyone the value of youth given that he was afforded the same opportunity as a youngster at Ibrox.
But he had the talent and the drive to back it up so he won’t give the likes of Bailey Rice or Findlay Curtis a chance just for the sake of it.
It’s just as well then that Ferguson has been on record saying that Rice can be a mainstay of the Rangers midfield.
He said on a Go Radio appearance earlier this month: “I have seen quite a bit of him and he is a player that has the chance of a real bright future at Rangers.
Bailey Rice shone against Manchester United and Ferguson is a believer in him[/caption]
“What I have seen of him, he has the capabilities to play in the Rangers first-team.
“At 18 years of age I have seen enough to say he has a chance to be a Rangers player for the next 10-15 years.”
Steadying the ship
For all Ferguson’s noise about making Rangers more attack-minded, he isn’t daft enough to ignore how the Light Blues have leaked goals this season.
That could lead to him making some personnel changes along the back line.
Regardless of whether he sticks with playing two wingers as Clement did or twists and names two strikers, one man who could find himself dropped is Robin Propper.
Ferguson said ahead of the Europa League clash against Tottenham Hotspur in December that he feared for Gers because the Dutch defender has “absolutely no pace”.
John Souttar and Leon Balogun have been battling injuries of late but should at least one of them be fit, it’s hard to envision Propper being paired with Clinton Nsiala after those comments.
Jefte‘s form has taken a cliff dive of late too so could Ridvan Yilmaz be welcomed back into the fold?
He hasn’t played in the last four league games so perhaps a stiff test in Ayrshire isn’t the ideal time but Saturday’s home clash against Motherwell could see his return.
However should Ferguson opt for a 4-4-2, it’s worth noting his praise for Jefte when he was deployed as a left-winger for the Champions League qualifiers against Dynamo Kyiv.
Two teams
So with all this in mind, here are two teams Ferguson could put out against Kilmarnock.
With Souttar and Balogun set to miss out at Rugby Park, Propper keeps his place in the starting line-up – for now.
But going forward expect him to be subbed out for Souttar or Balogun when fit.
The midfield is hard to call with Ferguson on record as a fan of Hagi and Rice, and with having publicly noted Bajrami’s improved performances when played as a ten.
But we’re making the bold call that he could give youth a chance if he goes 4-3-3 and then look to Hagi or Bajrami off the bench.
And if he goes 4-4-2, he’ll resist the urge to shift either of them out wide and instead offer Jefte another run out further forward – banking on the Brazilian to offer some extra help in defence where Hagi or Bajrami would struggle.
4-3-3: Butland; Tavernier, Propper, Nsiala, Jefte; Rice, Raskin, Diomande; Cerny, Dessers, Igamane.
4-4-2: Butland; Tavernier, Propper, Nsiala, Yilmaz; Cerny, Raskin, Diomande, Jefte; Igamane, Dessers.
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