If Philippe Clement is watching on from afar, seeing Barry Ferguson lauded after Rangers’ 4-2 comeback win at Kilmarnock, the former Ibrox boss could be forgiven for feeling a little put out.
Only a few weeks ago, Clement was slammed for ‘deplorable’ hooking of Bailey Rice during Rangers’ humiliating Scottish Cup defeat to Queen’s Park.
Flash forward to late February, Barry Ferguson’s first game in interim charge, and the Ibrox icon is being praised for subbing off another promising young player early in proceedings. At least Rice lasted until the interval. Clinton Nsiala made way with just 31 minutes gone in Ayrshire.
Yet, as former Rangers striker Gordon Dalziel explains, these two situations are far from identical.
For a start, Ferguson’s had the desired effect. While Clement was unable to turn around that Queen’s Park clash, Rangers went from 2-0 down to 4-2 up once Ferguson shifted the ‘exceptional’ James Tavernier to centre-back and brought Ridvan Yilmaz on for Nsiala.
Clinton Nsiala and Robin Propper ‘terrible’ as Rangers survive Kilmarnock scare
“I know Philippe Clement got stick for bringing Bailey Rice off but I think this was different,” Dalziel argues.
“Nsiala was struggling. Coming off the weekend where he gets bullied for one of the goals, he got bullied for the goal last night. Rangers looked better after he made the change. There was more energy.
“For them to come back, definitely for me that would not have happened under Clement.”
Both Ferguson and Tavernier are backing Nsiala to come back stronger after what has been his most punishing week yet in Scottish football. The summer signing from AC Milan was arguably at fault for both of St Mirren’s goals during the defeat which finally cost Clement his job last weekend.
It was only recently that Nsiala was being likened to a young Virgil van Dijk after a fabulous start to life in the Rangers’ XI.
Perhaps these are simply the sort of peaks and troughs to be expected from a 21-year-old playing his first season of senior football. Robin Propper, a decade Nsiala’s elder, can have relatively few excuses however.
The £1.5 million addition from FC Twente was sprawling on the floor when Kilmarnock took the lead in midweek from a corner; Rangers’ set-piece vulnerabilities exposed once again.
If Ferguson was right to take Nsiala out of the spotlight, then Propper was extremely fortunate to avoid the same fate.
By Derek McInnes’ admission, Kilmarnock caused Rangers’ two defenders all sorts of problems on a punishing night for two players comfortably outshone by Tavernier once the full-back switched to an unfamiliar central position.
Rangers’ backline ‘bullied’ as Barry Ferguson faces Motherwell dilemma
“I thought, for 30 minutes, they were absolutely all over the place,” adds Dalziel, who started his career at Rangers before moving to Manchester City. “[Ferguson] could have taken any of the back four off. Well, you wouldn’t have taken Tavernier off.
“The two centre-halves were terrible. They were all over the place. They were getting bullied by Kilmarnock.”
All this means Ferguson has plenty of food for thought ahead of this weekend’s clash with Motherwell at Ibrox.
With John Souttar and Dujon Sterling expected to miss out again, does the interim boss stick with the makeshift back four who ended the night in Ayrshire? Does he give Propper and Nsiala the chance to redeem themselves.
Or perhaps he could introduce the seldom-seen Rafael Fernandes for a rare appearance after joining on loan from Lille in January.
‘All over the place’: Two Rangers players given ‘terrible’ verdict as Barry Ferguson faces Motherwell dilemma
