Barry Ferguson emerges as ‘surprise’ candidate for new Rangers role
Rangers are searching for a new sporting director following the dismissal of Kevin Thelwell and are considering Barry Ferguson among their options.
The Rangers icon has previously represented the club both as a player and as their interim manager last season, and remains highly thought-of at Ibrox.
As I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Ferguson‘s name has been mentioned in discussions about the role as Rangers assess a number of options to help guide the club out of what has been a frustrating period.
However, he is considered a “surprise” option and is currently considered unlikely to take on the role despite not ruling himself out of contention.
This comes after Football Insider revealed on 28 November that Rangers want an experienced sporting director to help turn around their recent fortunes.
Rangers set sights on new sporting director
Rangers fans protested against Thelwell in the weeks leading to his dismissal after a disappointing transfer window and an even worse start to the season.
This comes after Football Insider exclusively revealed on 13 October that Thelwell’s position at Rangers is under scrutiny in the wake of Russell Martin’s dismissal.
Danny Rohl‘s appointment was followed by a major backroom reshuffle, with Patrick Stewart also moved on, and the search for replacements is well underway.
Speaking on the Inside Track podcast, I explained: “I was surprised as well when I saw Barry Ferguson’s name linked with the role of sporting director at Rangers.
“Rangers need to get this next appointment right.
“Barry Ferguson obviously is a legend at Rangers as a player, and obviously he’s helped out the club as interim manager as well, but I don’t think he would have the necessary experience maybe to take that sporting director role at Ibrox.
“Rangers will be scouring across Europe and the world to see who they can bring in to help Danny Rohl on the pitch and get him the players he needs to try and improve Rangers’ fortunes.
“So yeah I think they’ll probably go for a more experienced sporting director rather than Barry Ferguson.
“As I said I think it was a surprise to see him late with the job as he’s had no experience in that particular role before as well.
“So yeah I think Rangers would ideally like to bring in somebody who’s got a proven pedigree in that position.”
Rangers make January plans after backroom reshuffle
Despite making major changes behind the scenes in the transfer department, Rangers are still focused on their plans for the January transfer window.
While a number of improvements to the squad are being considered, they are also weighing up potential departures, with Nedim Bajrami‘s future up in the air.
Football Insider revealed on 29 November that Rangers could opt to keep Bajrami after his recent return to Rohl’s first-team plans, having previously been frozen out.
Bajrami looked set to leave Rangers under Martin’s stewardship, and was frozen out of the squad, but has been brought in from the cold under the new boss.
The attacking midfielder impressed during his cameo performance in Rangers’ 2-1 win against Livingston and now looks set to be handed a chance to prove his worth.
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