Barry Ferguson has said plenty over the years—a lot of nonsense, at that—but his approach to Sunday’s Glasgow Derby suggests Celtic should brace themselves for a physical battle.
Since stepping in as Rangers’ interim boss, Ferguson has seen a comeback win over Kilmarnock, a home defeat to Motherwell, and a penalty shootout escape against Fenerbahce. However, it’s his comments about how his team should approach games that raise eyebrows ahead of this weekend.
Last year, Ferguson made an unacceptable demand of the Rangers players, openly calling for players to foul Callum McGregor in an attempt to stop the Celtic captain from dictating the game.
Whether he meant cynical tactical fouls or outright rough challenges, the message was the same—McGregor had to be taken out of the game by any means necessary. It wasn’t an offhand comment either. A few days later, when given the chance to clarify or backtrack, he doubled down: “I’m certainly not going to apologise for saying it.”
Fast forward to this week, and Ferguson has once again hinted that he wants Rangers to take a more aggressive approach. He has spoken about his team being too nice and needing to be nastier on the pitch. [Sky Sports]
He has also made it clear that he expects his side to be aggressive, which could set the game for plenty of fouls.
Steven McLean must take control of the game and punish any fouling from early on.
Make no mistake—Rangers will come out and try to disrupt Celtic’s game by any means necessary. Whether that leads to genuine battles in midfield or something more cynical, Celtic need to be ready.
