Barry Ferguson says he sees ‘steeliness’ in McInnes’ new Ibrox side. Let’s see what happens if they drop points on Friday night and Celtic win on Monday…

Barry Ferguson is full of the joys of life today when it comes to Derek McInnes new Ibrox side.

He says they have a ‘steeliness’ about them that he hasn’t seen before.

Funnily enough, it’s always around this time of the year that some former Ibrox cheerleader pipes up about how much different the new Ibrox side was to previous season’s.

How they’ve got a feeling this season will be different from the last disastrous one.

Or as Barry says, he’s convinced the R*****s soft touch is gone.

In reality, it’s the hope that always kill them.

They start every season with the eternal hope that this Ibrox side will be the one that finally emulates the dead club.

The one that brings back the glory days.

At Ibrox, they live inside a very delicate bubble.

Somebody is always waiting to burst that bubble, and it never really takes much for it to end up burst.

You see, despite all of Barry Ferguson’s fawning about Del’s new side, it won’t take very much for his tune to change.

Or any other Ibrox fan’s for that matter.

Take this coming weekend for example.

As we know in the world of the Ibrox supporter, nothing less than a win – in any game – will suffice.

Don’t get me wrong, the same applies to us as Celtic fans, but we tend to handle setbacks a little bit better than our friends across the city.

We had enough of them last season, but as a result of our steeliness, we overcame all that in the end.

So, let’s look at Friday night’s fixture for the Ibrox side at Tannadice.

Twice in the first half of last season, the Ibrox side dropped points against Dundee United.

There were two 2-2 draws between the sides in October and December of 2025.

Which would indicate that Friday night’s fixture against the Tangerines isn’t going to be as straightforward as Barry Ferguson thinks.

On paper, the Ibrox side should have the beating of Jim Goodwin’s side.

But football games were never won on paper, as we well know.

Especially in the Scottish Premiership.

Coming off the back of losing the title to Celtic in such dramatic fashion on the last day of the season, it is critical that Derek McInnes hits the ground running at Ibrox.

All the hype, all the talk, and all the staunchness in the world will amount to nothing if they drop points at Tannadice.

The bubble will immediately burst if this tie ends in a draw or a defeat for McInnes and his new charges.

Ibrox fans will be seething and stewing on Follow Follow over the weekend.

Then, on Monday, if we do the business against Dundee, the meltdown will begin.

They will already be behind us after game one.

Now, I’m a realist, I very much understand that they could win on Friday night, and we could drop points on Monday evening.

The difference is that if that happens to us, we won’t go into meltdown, we will direct our ire towards the board.

We will keep the pressure on them to deliver in the transfer market.

We’re all delighted with the acquisition of Kasper Høgh, but as we’ve discussed enough times, it isn’t enough.

We know we need a lot more players in the door at Celtic Park.

So, if points are dropped on Monday evening, we will lay the blame squarely at the board’s door.

The Ibrox fans – on the other hand – cannot question their board’s commitment to delivering the players Derek McInnes asked for.

In the event that they drop points on Friday evening, they can’t blame their board for that.

They have kept their part of the bargain.

Andrew Cavenagh and co. have handed Derek McInnes seven new players, with the promise of more to come before the transfer window shuts.

Their commitment to the cause – unlike our board’s – cannot be called into question.

So, while Derek McInnes might look the part marching onto the Tannadice turf in his polished brown platform brogues, and club blazer and tie – if his side don’t do the business – what do you think is going to happen?

Who are the Ibrox fans going to direct their all of their pent up rage at?

You catch my drift?

Derek McInnes is already under immense pressure before a ball is kicked.

Friday night’s game is a must win for him.

Nothing else will suffice.

If he draws or loses, then I can guarantee you will see the words ‘serial’ (or cereal), ‘loser’, and ‘bottle merchant’ on Follow Follow.

Barry Ferguson’s fawning will look ridiculous, and he’ll have to eat humble pie in his column next week.

But this is what the SMSM does.

They pile the pressure on before a ball is kicked when it comes to the Ibrox side.

Whereas they will examine to the nth degree everything that is wrong at Celtic.

Which in turn, plays nicely into our hands because it doesn’t put us under anywhere near as much pressure as the Ibrox side.

I didn’t bother to dissect Barry’s article in the Record.

There’s no point because it’s the same old drivel he comes out with before every season kicks off.

But I’ll leave you with this little pearl of wisdom from him:

And I’ve seen enough to make me believe we’re about to see a very different version of Rangers when they come running out of that tunnel on Friday night

Yes Barry, they might look different, they might even have a different manager, but if the result isn’t a win on Friday night, Del is already under pressure.

And we’ve all seen what happens to a bottle merchant when he’s under pressure, haven’t we?

Derek McInnes might feel he’s arrived at his spiritual home.

I’m sure the reception he’s received since his arrival has warmed the cockles of his heart.

But I’m also sure he knows that goodwill at Ibrox can turn into hostility at the drop of a hat.

He has to hit the ground running on Friday night.

If he doesn’t, and then we win on Monday night?

Follow Follow should be a joy to behold.

A man can dream…

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