Neil McCann: Barry Ferguson's management team wouldn't be frightened of permanent Rangers stay

Neil McCann says the Rangers management team would be ready for the challenge – should they be offered the job long-term.

Ferguson, along with fellow ex-Rangers stars McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor, were appointed in February after the departure of Philippe Clement, signing contracts that run to the end of this season.

A summer of change is expected at Ibrox, as a consortium linked to NFL franchise, the San Francisco 49ers, closes in on a takeover of the club. That’s fuelled plenty of speculation about who the manager will be next season, with some hoping Ferguson and his colleagues stay on in their roles.

Asked about the prospect of staying in charge and leading the team into a new era at Ibrox, McCann said: “In-house, speaking to Fergie and as a coaching staff, none of us is frightened of a challenge.

“Not one of us.”

The coach, who has worked as a manager in his own right, as well as in the media since hanging up his boots after a successful playing career, had earlier been talking about how much he was enjoying his time back at the Govan club but was reluctant to look too far ahead.

“I love it,” he said. “There’s nothing better than being on the touchline or on the training ground preparing for a game.

“I loved my time at Dundee, I loved my time at Inverness, and it took me in other directions.

“I haven’t looked any further forward. I can’t because the contract is the contract,t and we’re in here to do a job.”

McCann talked about working under former Rangers captain Ferguson, and how the new coaching team, all Scotland internationals their time, had been trying to instill a certain mentality in a squad who had disappointed in domestic competition this season, leading to Clement’s exit.

“I’ve known Barry for a long time now,” he said. “He’s trying to bring the character he had as a player, the demand he had as a player.

“Doddsy is the same, Greegsy too. There are a lot of concerns existing for us coming in.

“But on the whole, the four guys that have come in here, we all probably share a real fighting Scottish spirit that I think is good.

“The group got it right away. They understood the message in the first training session. It was very, very clear what we expected.

“It’s never been let go. It’s relentless in terms of what we expect from them, work rate, intensity in training. I think that’s maybe something that they’ve had to adjust to.”

Asked if he thought Ferguson was the right candidate to take the team on in the future, he said: “It’s not my place to tell the new ownership if they come in, who is to get the job.

“What I will say is that I’ve been very impressed by how he wants to work and his willingness to allow Doddsy and I a lot of say on the training ground and in matches.

“I think what he’s shown already that a lot of people maybe thought from his coaching CV that he maybe wouldn’t be ready to take this position. Well, he’s proved that wrong.

“It’s not my place to tell anybody who should get the job or not. All we can do is work hard.

“I don’t think anybody in this building will tell you anything different.”

But pressed on how he would react if an offer was made, the coach admitted none of the staff would be likely to shirk the challenge of improving the team and chasing silverware next season.

“In-house, speaking to Fergie and as a coaching staff, none of us is frightened of a challenge,” he said. “Not one of us.

“If it was to be presented to us then I don’t think there would be any of us who would say ‘No, it’s not for us’.

“But it’s too far in the distance to even encourage that. As I said many times, we have a huge game coming up against Hibs, who are 15 unbeaten in the league.”