BARRY FERGUSON
SO much has been said and written in recent days to celebrate the life of Fernando Ricksen. But actions speak louder than words and nothing could match a performance against Feyenoord which was carved from my old team-mate’s image. This has been a period of grief for the Rangers family. All of that emotion seeped out at Ibrox. I have played in games where we have lost one of our own and it’s that grief which can be used to inject energy. You could see Fernando had energised his old club, it could be heard and felt in every corner of the stadium. The atmosphere was electric. It was clear the players used it to enhance their performance. From the moment the ball started rolling, there was passion and emotion in everything Rangers did and they could have been four goals ahead going into the break.
It was terrific to see, that will to win was exactly what Fernando would have wanted.
Thursday night’s 1-0 win at Ibrox was another clear sign of a club making progress.
Feyenoord are a good club, a team with a big tradition in European football so it’s another feather in the cap for everyone at Rangers to have beaten them.
For the opening 45 minutes it was a story of domination.
To a man, Rangers were excellent – they started on the front foot and didn’t give Feyenoord any time to breathe.
The second half wasn’t so comfortable as the Dutch side came into it and you can accept that Rangers were starting to run out of steam just after the hour mark.
But it was a deserved win thanks to Sheyi Ojo’s goal. People will say Allan McGregor had to make a couple of crucial saves but that’s what you expect from your goalkeeper.
Good teams are always going to get a few chances.
Steven Gerrard is a young manager, he’ll be the first to admit he’s still learning on the job, but he has a wealth of experience sitting next to him in the shape of Gary McAllister.
Rangers have an abundance of talent in that dugout with coach Michael Beale also a huge contributor.
Gary Mac is a huge influence on Gerrard and that’s why he brought him to Glasgow as his assistant.
Let’s not kid ourselves though, the manager is no rookie in Europe. He has performed for Liverpool on football’s biggest stages.
Gerrard has captained a side in a Champions League Final and lifted the trophy so he knows better than most about what’s required.
Nights like Thursday are right up his street. In terms of management he is taking the club in the right direction with the help of Gary Mac and his backroom team.
Gary has also been a success in Europe, a huge presence at Rangers and someone who has been there and seen it all.
Nobody should underestimate the value in having that experience at the club and for Gerrard to have a shoulder to lean on.
But the manager has the final say and against Feyenoord he got his tactics spot on.
My final mention goes to Filip Helander. He hasn’t featured much since coming in this summer but the huge defender impressed me.
This was a big test for him and he was excellent.
This is what it’s all about at Rangers. It’s those European nights under the lights against good teams.
You just can’t beat that, either as a player, manager or a fan. These are the special occasions which have been savoured for so long.
This result is another stride forward towards reclaiming serious credibility as a force in Europe.