Barry: Give job to Murts
RANGERS TIME TO REWARD MAN WHO HAS BROUGHT BACK BELIEF
BARRY FERGUSON has urged chairman Dave King to extend Graeme Murty’s role as Rangers manager beyond this season.
The former Ibrox skipper believes Murty has already done enough to deserve a long-term crack at the whip.
Fergie said: “I see a man in complete control of his dressing room and building a side which is ready to go toe to toe with Celtic next weekend and potentially give the champions the fright of their lives in the title run-in.
“He has given my old club a sense of pride and respectability and he should be rewarded with a long-term deal. Rangers finally look like a side that’s going places.”
GRAEME MURTY might have ended up in the Rangers job by accident but it would be a serious mistake if he’s not given it for good.
I must admit I didn’t really believe he was a serious candidate to be given the role on a full-time basis.
But the more I have seen of his team, the more I have been convinced he is the right man in the right place at the right time.
Yes, there have been a couple of erratic performances along the way and the points he dropped at home had many fans thinking the caretaker was way out of his depth.
But not me. No, on the contrary I see a man in complete control of his dressing room, building a side ready to go toe to toe with Celtic next weekend and potentially give the champions the fright of their lives in the run-in for the title.
When you consider the absolute mess he inherited from Pedro Caixinha the turnaround has been quite incredible.
And as far as I’m concerned, no matter what happens between now and the end of the season Murty has more than earned the right to call himself the manager of Rangers.
He has given my old club a sense of pride and respectability and should be rewarded for it with a long-term deal.
You can’t help but be impressed by the job he has done and the progress Rangers have been making ever since he took over.
Right now they are the form team in Scotland, something that simply never seemed possible when Caixinha was calling the shots.
It’s rare any team has 11 players all operating at the top of their game.
But that’s exactly what Murty has managed to get out of them and deserves all the credit in the world for it.
It’s not a case of two or three players getting through games by just doing enough.
Every single one of them is flying and two or three are in the form of their lives.
I looked at Alfredo Morelos on Tuesday night against St Johnstone and saw a guy who is playing out of his skin.
He’s not just scoring goals – he looks fit, strong and his workrate is phenomenal.
He is without question in the best condition he has been in since he arrived at the club last summer.
Josh Windass is another flourishing under Murty. Ten goals in seven games? That’s a player at the top of his game and he looks like hurting defences every time the ball is at his feet.
A couple of weeks ago I picked out James Tavernier for a word of praise because his attitude and performances have been so impressive.
I would argue with anybody there is not a better right-back in the country at the moment.
So Rangers are operating at their full potential and that’s a great place to be with an Old Firm game on the horizon, especially at a time Celtic are playing well below theirs.
Don’t get me wrong, I am fully aware Celtic are the best side in the country and you only need to look at the league table to confirm it. To be sitting six points clear with a game in hand tells its own story. But there is no question they are not firing on all cylinders.
In fact if it wasn’t for Scott Brown performing like a super human they would be in even worse shape than they are.
While Rangers have 11 players all hitting the heights, seven or eight of Celtic’s regular starters are really struggling for form.
And that’s what makes the next derby so interesting.
Since Rangers got back up the leagues I have not looked forward to a single Old Firm encounter. If anything I have dreaded them all. But this time
I honestly can’t wait for the action to begin because my old team are finally looking like a Rangers side are supposed to.
On top of that this is the most important Old Firm game there has been in the last six or seven years because there is a possibility Rangers could win it and cut the gap at the top to just three points.
And who knows what might happen after that?
It’s there for Rangers to go and grasp it. There is a word that springs to mind when I’ve watched them lately – ruthless.
That’s something I’ve not said about Rangers for a long, long time. They’re also full of energy and drive and that will cause Celtic no end of problems because the champions look like a side with not much left in the tank.
Yes, they are still the top side in the land. But all the football they have played at home and in Europe eventually takes a toll.
Trust me I’ve been there and done it and there does come a point when your body just refuses to respond to the questions it’s being asked.
It annoys me when people say professional footballers should be able to cope with the demands of playing so many games. They’re professionals but they’re also only human. Eventually you reach a stage when the fatigue does kick in. I can see that in a good few of Brendan Rodgers’s players which must be a major concern for him going into this match because his team looks lethargic. There is always the danger Celtic will raise themselves for the occasion like top players do and that Rangers might be faced by a wounded animal. But if there has been a good time to get them it must be now. Rangers’ players should be confident of doing a job against them because their levels of self-belief can never have been higher. For me the game will be won and lost in the centre of midfield as it always is. With Brown leading the way for Celtic and Olivier Ntcham also playing well they are strong in that department. But Rangers have Sean Goss and Greg Docherty and the two of them have really impressed me. It’s no surprise at all Murty wants to keep Goss beyond the end of his loan spell and I can’t understand why Ian Holloway has taken offence to that. The QPR boss went way over the top because Murty didn’t say anything wrong. In fact it’s absolutely right he is already looking towards next season and planning for the future. That’s why Dave King should be doing the same thing and getting Murty tied up on a new deal as quickly as possible. Rangers finally look like a side that’s going places. For that reason alone Murty must stay.
Murty deserves to land Gers job full-time, he’s built a team capable of giving champs Celtic fright of their lives next weekend