Ferguson: Rangers comeback win showed character

Barry Ferguson praised the character of his Rangers side as they came from behind to defeat Kilmarnock 4-2 in his first match in interim charge.

It looked like it could be a nightmare start for Ferguson, as goals from Joe Wright and Brad Lyons put the home side in a commanding position after just 15 minutes.

But Rangers hit back before half-time through Vaclav Cerny’s 11th Scottish Premiership goal and equalised at the start of the second half as Cyriel Dessers nodded in a corner.

The Nigerian then put the visitors in front nine minutes later, before substitute Nedim Bajrami rounded things off with a goal in the latter stages, securing a first win in charge for Ferguson.

The 47-year-old acknowledged that his side only really got going after going behind, but was delighted with the fight from his players in engineering a fine comeback win.

“It was a horrendous start,” he told BBC Scotland.

“Maybe we gave them too much information because after going two goals down, we got a bit of grip in the game.

“Then, we were different class in the second half, with the type of Rangers performance I expect to see.

“There’s a lot to work on, and we’ll work on it, but one thing they showed tonight was character.”

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— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) February 26, 2025

Ferguson made the bold move of substituting Clinton Nsiala before the half-hour mark, with James Tavernier drafted into the centre of defence.

He told Sky Sports: “At times during a game when things are not going your way, you have to make tough decisions.

“Clinton’s young, he’ll recover from that, but I just felt at that stage we had to make the change. Obviously, it worked out pretty well.”

Ferguson, who enjoyed two trophy-laden spells at the club as a player, itted he was still coming to with the enormity of taking the job, having not managed for the past three years since reg from his role at Alloa Athletic.

“It’s just been a bit surreal,” Ferguson said.

“I didn’t expect to come back into management. I was enjoying my new role as an ambassador but when you get offered the opportunity, I just thought I’d be crazy to turn it down.”