Steven Naismith found himself in a similar position at Hearts and he wouldn’t be surprised to see Fergie land the gig full-time
Barry Ferguson is coming across as the Rangers real deal – but the interim boss has been warned his Celtic win is only the first part.
It’s been quite the whirlwind start for the former Ibrox skipper in his interim gig as he dumped Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce out of the Europa League to set up a quarter-final clash with Athletic Bilbao before getting the better of Brendan Rodgers and his champions in their own backyard in front of 2400 away fans.
It was quite the spectacle at Parkhead with Hamza Igamane the matchwinner in the five-goal thriller with just minutes to play after Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate brought the Hoops level on the day with Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande putting the visitors two-goals to the good going into the half-time break.
Former Hearts boss Steven Naismith – in the BBC Sportscene studio offering his expert analysis – reckons his old club needed the win more than Celtic in what he labelled his main takeaway from the derby showdown.
It was then put to Naismaith if Ferguson landing the job full-time would come as a surprise. His own rise in his former position at Hearts mirrors the situation the current Ibrox interim is in.
He believes the here and now is an opportunity for Fergie to show he is up for replacing Philippe Clement permanently.
But he needs to replicate the results and performances on the road at the likes of Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen.
He said: “I wouldn’t be surprised. I was in a similar situation at Hearts when I got interim.
“It is an opportunity for him. He doesn’t know what is going to happen with a takeover or whatever that may be.
“All he can do is say ‘I am up for this job, I am good enough to do it and I have the understanding, backroom team and knowledge of the club’.
“For me he comes across in his press like a Rangers manager. He’s shown in this last two weeks he’s got the tactical detail needed.
“But this is only the first part. He needs to do it away to Edinburgh clubs, Aberdeen away. These are tough games that cause different problems.”
He added: “I think they needed it more. I think Rangers needed it more for where they are at. That was the biggest takeaway I had from it.”
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