Rangers legend Steven Davis backing former team-mate Barry Ferguson to 'embrace the challenge' after starting interim reign with Kilmarnock win
Northern Ireland legend Steven Davis says former Rangers team-mate Barry Ferguson will “embrace the challenge” of becoming interim boss after starting his reign with a come-from-behind 4-2 Scottish Premiership victory over Kilmarnock.
Ferguson made 431 appearances for the Glasgow giants during his trophy-laden career, winning the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup five times apiece, including captaining the Ibrox outfit to a memorable treble in 2002/03.
After Philippe Clement was dismissed following last weekend’s 2-0 home league defeat to St Mirren – a result which came just two weeks on from their Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Championship side Queen’s Park and left them 13 points behind league leaders Celtic – Ferguson was drafted in on a temporary basis until the end of this season.
Life in the Rangers dugout got off to a rocky start for the former Scotland international as goals from Joe Wright and ex-Coleraine star Brad Lyons gave the hosts a 2-0 advantage, but Ferguson’s men struck back as Cyriel Dessers’ brace combined with Vaclav Cerny and Nedim Bajrami strikes to seal three points.
Davis played in midfield alongside Ferguson for two seasons, spending one campaign on loan from Fulham before joining permanently in 2008, winning all three major domestic trophies together while also guiding Rangers to a UEFA Cup final.
Just like Ferguson, Davis was thrust into management duties at Ibrox when Michael Beale was dismissed in October 2023, taking charge of two matches before Clement was appointed.
"There are a lot of similarities with the situation with Barry coming in - it's out of the blue for him and it was the same for myself when Michael Beale lost his job at that time,” said Davis on Sky Sports after Wednesday’s win. “As Barry spoke about, it's a whirlwind those first 24/48 hours and he didn't have a lot of time to prepare for his first game, but it's a fantastic opportunity and he's going to embrace the challenge.
"It was an absolutely brilliant comeback. The first half-hour I think he will be disappointed with but certainly after that there was a great reaction from the team and he will be delighted to win.
"It's no easy feat coming from two goals behind at Kilmarnock so he will be a happy man."