NAKED AMBITION
I’d run down the M74 starkers to be Ibrox boss but I’m nowhere near ready and that’s not why I left Bully Wee
BARRY FERGUSON, Rangers manager.
I’m not going to lie, that has been the ambition since the moment I decided to bring the curtain down on my playing career. And it will continue to be for as long as I’m wearing a big padded coat.
It might never happen but I’ll die trying – and everybody knows it.
That doesn’t make me anything special. I’d imagine any player who was lucky enough to pull on that shirt will feel the same way.
So when I made the decision to officially quit my job at Clyde on Sunday morning I knew what was coming next. The text messages and voice mails nearly melted my mobile.
Within hours the bookies had even installed me as new red-hot favourite to replace Mark Warburton and the general assumption was I must be on my way back to Murray Park to rejoin my old club in some sort of capacity. I wish! The truth of the matter is I’d have run naked along the M74 to get there if I thought for a second they wanted me for any role within the club.
Having dedicated most of my life to the club I will always feel a sense of duty. Whenever or if ever Rangers need my help, I’ll be there. It goes without saying.
But let’s get one thing straight. At this point in my own development I’m simply not equipped for the top job. I know what it takes to be the manager of Rangers because I have seen what is required with my own eyes. I know the standards I’ll have to achieve if I’m ever to be worthy of such an honour.
So the suggestion that I had thrown in the towel at Broadwood because I was being secretly lined up for my dream job at Ibrox was ridiculous from the outset.
Yes, one day I do hope to be good enough to manage Rangers. If it happens I’ll have achieved every ambition I ever had, after playing for the club, captaining the side and lifting trophies in a blue shirt. I would die a happy man.
But for now the immediate future is to continue learning my trade in order that I’m ready if that day ever does come.
Which brings us back to my decision to move on to a new chapter and to close the door on three very enjoyable and invaluable years at Clyde.
It was done with a heavy heart but also with the best of intentions. In the end I knew it was right for myself
I’ll make myself the best manager I can be. And one day I hope that’s good enough for Rangers
and also right for the club.
I had been thinking about doing it for a month or so and my only regret is I didn’t act sooner. I’m a great one for going with my gut and the moment I first started to think about moving on was probably when I should have done it.
But we were still on a good run in the Scottish Cup – we came within a replay of the quarter finals – and that’s probably why I stayed longer than I should.
The truth is I had grown more and more frustrated. Our results weren’t good and the worse they got the more time I wanted to spend time working with the players, putting things right on the training ground.
But rather than get right back to work on the Monday morning, I had to wait another day and a half for our first session of the week on the Tuesday night. And most of the time the full squad wasn’t there because the players had other commitments.
I didn’t want to start taking my frustrations out on my family or on the players for that matter. But I was becoming more and more unhappy and deep down I knew I couldn’t let it continue.
Our results simply weren’t good enough and I reached the conclusion that it would be better for the team if I stepped aside.
Actually the performances weren’t as bad as results suggest but when you’re in a situation like that sometimes all it needs to turn things round is a new face or a wee change in luck. I sincerely hope that’s the case at Clyde.
I enjoyed my time there and feel I’ve learned a lot over the last three years. A lot of people thought I was daft for managing at the lowest level of the SPFL. They said I should have used my name to get a bigger job at a bigger club.
But I chose to go in to the bottom tier because I wanted to get my hands dirty. I wanted to see how it worked.
All my professional life I was pampered and protected from the real world. So I wanted to go in there with my eyes wide open and experience the other side of the game for myself. I certainly did that.
I had to do things I would never have dreamt of doing before. Organising training facilities, booking pitches, buying training kit. If we needed a bus to get us to a game that was my responsibility.
If we needed a pre-match meal it was up to me to find a hotel or a restaurant. For the first time in my football life, whatever we needed it was my job to get it.
No one else was there to hold my hand or do it all for me.
That was exactly the education I was looking for and now it’s over I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. I had a lot of good experiences and a lot of bad ones but I’m a more rounded person for them all. I’ve made mistakes and I learned from them.
But now the question is, what’s the next step? The truth is at this moment I have no idea. All I know is I’m ready for a new challenge and to move on to the next phase of my managerial education.
I’ve already been making calls to make sure I get out and about. I was at the Hamilton-Aberdeen game on Tuesday night and next week I’ll be down to England to visit a few clubs, probably in Birmingham and Manchester.
I also plan to go abroad in the next couple of months to study how it’s done in different countries because you can never take on too many good ideas.
I know I’ve made my share of mistakes. I’ve got them all written down to make sure I learn from them and to make sure I never repeat them. I just need to keep on learning and making myself better.
That was my approach as a kid when I used to watch my big brother play for Rangers and all I wanted was to be like him.
It was the way I went about it after I finally got into that first-team dressing room and started fighting for the right to wear the jersey.
And it’s been the plan ever since I decided that a life swinging clubs on the golf course is not for me. I intend making myself the best manager I can be. And yes, one day I hope that’s good enough for Rangers.
●Finally, I’d just like to take this opportunity to say how sad I was to hear of the passing of Tommy Gemmell and to offer my condolences to his family. Scottish football has lost one of its genuine legends.