Barry Ferguson believes Rangers are physically and mentally ready for Saturday night's trip to Dens Park, and warns that someone will suffer this weekend.
Writing in his column, the former Rangers interim head coach admitted that in recent years he would have felt edgy about a game like this – an 8pm kick-off in mid-October, very probably in the pouring rain. He confessed that even during his own short time as manager, he worried about whether the team could battle their way back out of a place like Dens Park with all three points.
He said he was never completely convinced there were enough players strong enough – physically or mentally – to deal with what would be coming at them if they didn't get their own way on the pitch. While he had complete faith in their ability to take care of the ball, he was concerned about their ability to react and adapt to different circumstances, and whether they could get overpowered if the game turned into a scrap.
A lesson from the Advocaat era
Ferguson recalled speaking to players about the need to run through brick walls for the badge, saying Rangers fans would forgive a poor performance as long as players were willing to work for the shirt. He referenced his own days in Dick Advocaat's side, which he described as one of the best footballing teams Rangers have had in recent times.
He named Ronald de Boer, Arthur Numan, Gio van Bronckhorst, Jorge Albertz and Claudio Reyna as players with huge talent who were, first and foremost, prepared to work their backside off for one another. He said they were willing to match the size of the fight in their direct opponent when they couldn't play the game they wanted at places like Dens Park, Tynecastle, Pittodrie or Easter Road.
A different Rangers side this season
Ferguson said that over the last few years, that willingness has not always looked like it was the case, but he is starting to see signs of a very different Rangers side this season. He said he is feeling much more relaxed and calm about their prospects travelling up to Tayside on Saturday night, and believes that for the first time in a long time, this team is physically and mentally ready to go to places like that.
He acknowledged that Dundee have to be respected, saying Big Elvis has got them flying and playing some really good stuff this season in spite of a number of injuries. But he said he is not as worried as he might have been before, because if it turns into a battle, this set of players will be able to handle it.
McInnes' influence and a warning to others
Ferguson said Derek McInnes – who was also part of that squad under Advocaat – has clearly worked very hard along the exact same lines. He suggested previous Rangers managers may never quite have understood the importance of it, or what it takes to be successful in Scottish football.
He said the sense of togetherness he is seeing in McInnes' dressing room is what has helped them turn things around in such a short space of time after a massively disappointing start to the season. It is why he is confident they will find a way to chalk up an eighth straight win on Saturday night, and he said he genuinely doesn't believe they will allow themselves to be pushed around or bullied.
Ferguson added that there is a long way to go before this team can be compared to successful Rangers sides of the past, and they have achieved nothing yet. But Saturday's win over Kilmarnock has set them up nicely for a very important six-game block before the next international break. They now have to turn a seven-game winning streak into eight and make sure they are back at the top of the table when they get back to Glasgow.
He noted that last season there were very few occasions when Rangers, Hearts and Celtic all won on the same weekend. That happened in the previous round of fixtures, but it most certainly can't happen again with Hearts going to Parkhead on Sunday afternoon. He said that means somebody is going to suffer this weekend, and it simply can't be Rangers – that's the mentality they've got to have.
