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Kris Commons issues a desperate SOS to Barry Ferguson as he makes a Rangers confession that no Celtic supporter wants to admit
The former Celtic playmaker believes that the incoming interim manager at Ibrox will receive an immediate response from the struggling players.
Celtic hero Kris Commons believes that Hoops fans want a strong Rangers to challenge them, and he expects Barry Ferguson to elicit an immediate response from the ailing squad.
The Ibrox great has taken over as manager after Philippe Clement was fired, and he will face Kilmarnock on Wednesday in his first game. Ferguson has been given 15 games to improve the mood at Ibrox, with the hope of winning a trophy this season all but gone – barring a deep run in the Europa League, with Fenerbahce next on the list.
Domestically, Celtic are on course for a domestic clean sweep having already seen off Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final while holding a 13 point advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership. Brendan Rodgers’s will also look to keep the Scottish Cup in the Celtic Park trophy cabinet – but Commons reckons that Ferguson could immediately shake things up and give both sides of the Glasgow divide a boost.
In an interview with PLZ, Commons criticised Celtic’s performance against St Mirren at the end of the Clement period, stating that he does not want to confront a “wounded animal” in the future. “I don’t see as much ferocity on the pitch in the way they play. Roy Keane, for example, may declare that falling below certain criteria is unacceptable. Scott Brown was comparable to players like Barry Ferguson, Lee McCulloch, and Steven Naismith, who provided predictable results.
“(After St Mirren) They have probably gone to the dressing room and gone ‘the season is done anyway, it is what it is’ – but they have got an accountability to not only the supporters but the manager as well. Unfortunately he has lost his job, now it’s up to them to see if they can roll their sleeves up from now until the end of the season.
“For the Celtic supporters watching – they want a strong Rangers. When I was a player I wanted to beat the best Rangers team, I don’t want to see a weakened animal. I want to beat the best of the best and show that we are the best in Scotland.
“With Barry and the rest of the Rangers lot going in there – as soon as you hear the news as a player in that dressing room you might get your phone out, get your laptop out and go ‘right, he is a Rangers legend, bringing in this team with him – we need to be on it’. There is no slack days off, there is no turning up at 10 and leaving at 1 – I think he will get that response quickly and whether he can put that into results it will be interesting to see.”
