Barry Ferguson calls for quick decision on who will be Rangers manager

Rangers interim manager Barry Ferguson believes he still has a chance of being appointed on a permanent basis and wants the club to make a decision on the role quickly.

Ferguson saw his side draw 1-1 with Celtic in the final Old Firm game of the season, with Cyriel Dessers’ opening goal cancelled out by a second-half Adam Idah strike.

The former Rangers captain has just three games left in his spell in charge, having been appointed to steady the ship after Philippe Clement’s absence and take the team through to the end of the season.

It’s expected to be a summer of huge change at Ibrox, with the American consortium that includes 49ers Enterprises closing in on their boardroom takeover. Incoming sporting director Kevin Thelwell is expected to make major changes and the club will be making a decision on who the next man in the dugout is.

Ferguson says that appointment needs to be made quickly, with the team needing to be built ahead of the crucial Champions League qualifiers.

Asked if he thought he had had a chance of getting the job, he said: “Do I think I should get the job or do I want the job? I know I can do the job.”

Pressed again, he said “of course” he still believed he could be appointed permanently, insisting he wasn’t intimidated by the scale of the task and that a quick decision should be made because “there’s a hell of a lot to be done”.

“Yeah, of course [there’s a chance’],” he said. “But that’s up to people above to decide.

“Look, since I’ve come in here, there’s been a few bumps but that does not scare me one single bit.

“I’ve been through the doors now, I know what’s needed in terms of change. So we just need to wait and see.

“But as I said to you, it has to be a decision made quickly now because we’re coming to the end of the season.

“You need to obviously start deciding what way you want to go heading into next season. Because this season has been dry in terms of trophies. This club needs to get back to challenging and winning trophies again.

“I keep repeating myself. I’ve told everybody. Everybody’s got an opinion. I don’t care about people’s opinions. I know I can do the job. I know I’ve got a real good staff behind me.

“I’ve been asked this question two or three weeks in a row. I think it’s clear. It doesn’t scare me one single bit. I know there’s a hell of a lot of work to be done. But I think everybody knows that.

“That’s a challenge that I would meet head-on. And I know I would change it.”

Reflecting on the draw with Celtic, Ferguson was satisfied with the players’ efforts. After calling for a huge improvement on the draw with St Mirren last week, the former Ibrox captain was happy with the mindset but felt a little more quality could have turned one point into three.

“I’m really happy with the commitment of the team,” he said. “Obviously disappointed with just getting a point.

“You obviously want to come out of these games and come away with three points. So that’s the thing that probably disappoints me.

“I spoke to the boys after it. As I just mentioned, they’re delighted with the commitment, the effort.

“Just that bit of quality in the final third when we break at times has to be better than that final pass, that attempt on goal and maybe take too many touches. But listen, they accept that, they understand that. That’s something that again we need to work hard on when we come back into training on Tuesday.”