The former Ibrox skipper wants clarity over his own future with a lot of planning for next season needing addressed ASAP
Barry Ferguson has told the new Ibrox owners to get a move on with plans for their Rangers revolution – including a decision on his own future.
Monday marks 70 days since the former skipper was called back to Govan to clean up the mess left by sacked boss Philippe Clement.
However, the caretaker gaffer been unable to make a dent in Celtic’s huge lead at the top of the Premiership despite Sunday’s 1-1 draw with the champions meaning he has avoided defeat in both his encounters with Brendan Rodgers’ side.
The 47-year-old now has three more games in charge before his interim stint in charge is due to come to an end.
But Ferguson says it would be helpful to know now if he’s being kept on on a permanent basis so he can start his planning for next season.
Fergie – speaking after watching Adam Idah cancel out Cyriel Dessers’ opener at Ibrox – responded after being asked to rate his chances of landing the job: “I honestly don’t know.
“We know there are changes. The changes are starting to happen. And that’s a real positive in my eyes.
“Kevin Thelwell has come in as Sporting Director. I don’t know when he starts, maybe the middle of June or the start of July.
“But we need to get started because it’s a couple of weeks before the end of the season.
“Before you know it, you’re in the qualification games for the Champions League. And then the season is upon you.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. And the club need to make that decision about who’s going to be leading the team pretty soon.
“You would probably have to start pre-season the last week of June. And then you’ve got the qualification games for the Champions League, which I believe are the 20th of July, 21st of July.
“So there needs to be a lot more work to be done in terms of the changes that are going to be made, because people are running out of contracts.
“There’s people that maybe want to leave and go elsewhere. So there’s a lot of work to be done but that’s been needed.
“It has to obviously be this way going forward.”
Ferguson’s chances of getting the gig soared after masterminding impressive March wins away to Fenerbahce and Celtic.
But his fortunes have faded since then and he heads to his final fortnight in the Gers hot seat having managed just four wins from 12 games.
Major changes will be required to make a team currently 17 points behind their bitter rivals competitive next term. But that prospects does not daunt the interim manager.
“I know I can do the job,” he said. “Do I feel I’ve got a chance of getting a job? Yeah, of course. 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. And that’s a challenge that I would meet head on. And I know I would change it.”
