FORMER Rangers captain Barry Ferguson is excited at the prospect of ex-teammate Allan McGregor making a possible return to Ibrox this summer, believing the 36-year-old is exactly the type of character that this Rangers dressing room needs.
Ferguson’s assessment of McGregor could only have come from an old friend given the way he both elevates and demeans him in the same breath, as he showers him with praise for his ability while simultaneously labelling him a ‘loony-bin’.
But Ferguson believes McGregor can still make a valuable contribution on the pitch too, ranking him as the best goalkeeper he has ever played with, an accolade not to be sniffed at when you factor in the prestigious names elsewhere on that list.
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“I got told maybe a week ago that there as maybe a chance of him going back, and I think it’s what Rangers need,” Ferguson said. “Not just as a goalkeeper, although I think he’s different class.
“He’s probably the best goalkeeper I’ve played with, and I’ve played with some top ones like The Goalie Andy Goram, Stefan Klos, Joe Hart, Ben Foster, Brad Friedel, and for me he is up there with the best.
“He’s also a strong character, and that’s what that place needs. He knows the demands and the pressures that go with it.
“I think there’s a lot of good players at Rangers, but my worry is, can they handle the pressures and the demands placed upon them?
“[McGregor] was an absolute loony-bin, not just a loony-bin. But he had everything. When it came in that goalkeepers had to play, I noticed at a very young age he used to want to join in the boxes and the possession drills, and he always fancied himself as an outfield player, he just couldn’t run.
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“As a player I think he would be good. They have a good goalkeeper as it is, but for me, you look at the type of character he is. He will go in that dressing room and he will demand from guys, and he will make sure he gets the best out of them.
“He’s still got that daft streak, but that’s what I like about him. He should never lose that.
“I think he’d be a top signing, I really do.”
While buoyed by links between Rangers and McGregor and the likes of Scott Arfield, Ferguson admits he is concerned that any potential new manager may be put off by having signings made for him before he arrives.
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“I find it strange and it worries me that we’re going for Allan McGregor and Scott Arfield but we don’t have a manager in place," he said.
“For me a manager has got to sign the players. I don’t understand a director of football signing players. The manager is the main guy and picks the team on a Saturday - not the director of football.
“It’s a strange set-up and a lot of managers wouldn’t come in under those circumstances because they would want to decide who is being signed, because ultimately it falls on them on a Saturday afternoon."
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