Barry Ferguson insists he has not given up on his dream of becoming Rangers manager — claiming he would ‘make the club better’ if he was appointed on a permanent basis.
Ferguson was named as interim boss two months ago following the sacking of Philippe Clement.
Asked to take the team until the end of the season, Ferguson has overseen four wins, two draws and four defeats from his ten matches at the helm so far.
With Rangers appointing Kevin Thelwell as their new sporting director earlier this week, as revealed exclusively by Mail Sport on Tuesday, the expectation is that the club will also pursue a new manager in the summer.
As takeover talks continue with the 49ers Enterprises, Thelwell is expected to lead the search for a new permanent manager in the summer, potentially backed by fresh US investment.
But, with five matches of the season left to play, Ferguson insists he still has a lot to offer — and hasn’t given up on landing the job full-time.
Speaking ahead of today’s trip to St Mirren, he said: ‘If I get the job, I will make my club a better club. If I don’t get the job, I will still support the club. That’s the way I’m looking at it.
‘I’ve got five games to go, the final game is on May 17. My focus is on this next few weeks.
‘There’s been a few bumps since I’ve come in, I knew that was going to be the case, but I wasn’t frightened of that. I know the changes that are needed.
‘In terms of the best (candidates), there’s obviously names getting mentioned who have a lot more experience than myself. But I always will back myself.
‘Listen, I might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I know I can do the job alongside the staff that I’ve brought in. We just need to wait and see.’
Asked if he could see himself managing elsewhere if Rangers were to appoint someone else, he said: ‘No — because it’s my club and I wasn’t interested in going back into coaching.
‘I got an opportunity I never thought I would get and I’ve come in and I’ve enjoyed every single second of it.
‘Some of the results I’ve not enjoyed, they have hurt me. But I enjoy the challenge of it, because it is a big challenge.
‘In terms of in the future, managing elsewhere, no. I had a good life before, I enjoyed my role at Rangers before, and if that’s not going to be managing, then hopefully I’ll just go back to that and enjoy what I was doing [ambassadorial role].’
Thelwell will take up his new role when his contract with Everton expires at the end of the season, following previous spells with Wolves and New York Red Bulls.
Ferguson hasn’t had the chance to speak with Thelwell yet, but plans to do so at some point in the near future.
‘I will have a meeting with him,’ said Ferguson, who confirmed that left-back Ridvan Yilmaz will miss the rest of the season due to an injury picked up in the Europa League defeat to Athletic Bilbao.
‘I don’t know when that is, but when we sit down I’ll be honest, and I’ll be clear. We’ll bang heads together.
‘It’s good, he’s an experienced guy, he’s been about a lot of clubs, a lot of big clubs as well, so I think it was an appointment that was needed. A lot of change is needed.
‘It’s something that I’ve made clear that there needs to be outside investment, I’ve said it now for a couple of years. So it looks like it’s going to be close now [with the takeover], it’s just hopefully a matter of time.
‘I’ve not got a timeframe on how long that’s going to take, but as a Rangers supporter of course I’m happy to see that talks are progressing well.’