Rangers back where they belong?? Ferguson thinks that knocking Celtic off top spot will send a message, what message?

The Ibrox cheerleaders are really starting to come out of the woodwork.

And you’ll notice that it always happens when they string a few wins together.

This time it’s Barry Ferguson, who has written a column in the Daily Record telling us that a win over Kilmarnock on Saturday can send his old club “back where they belong” at the top of the Premiership.

Here is what he said, as reported by the Daily Record:

“Just seeing their name at the top of the pile, for however long it lasts, will be a clear sign that my old club have hauled themselves right into the thick of this season’s title fight.”

“And a reminder to their most fierce rivals that Derek and his players are coming for them over the weeks and months ahead.”

“That’s where Rangers belong. And it’s up to them now to make sure they stay there for more than just 24 hours or so.”

Back where they belong.

I’ll need somebody to explain that one to me.

Can Barry Ferguson tell me how a club that is only twelve years old belongs at the top of anything?

Let’s start with the obvious.

The Ibrox side is twelve years old.

That is the entire history of the club that is, according to Ferguson, destined to sit at the top of the Scottish game.

So what exactly merits this kind of mentality?

Because I can’t see it.

And I’ve looked – I’ve really looked.

You don’t get to say you belong somewhere because of what the old club, the one that went into liquidation, used to do.

Rangers 1872 had a history, and it died with the club.

What we’ve got now is a company that has been in existence for twelve years and wants a medal for sitting top of the league on a Saturday night.

Ferguson was a player at that old club, so I suppose I can understand why he blurs the two together.

But it doesn’t make it true.

They have spent a fortune on utter mediocrity, and he thinks they belong at the top?

Then there’s the money.

The Ibrox club has spent heavily over the last few years.

Think about that for a second.

All that money, and what has it bought them?

A squad that Ferguson himself admits hasn’t had nearly enough competition for places.

A manager that has had, in the words of the very same column, “rotten luck” with injuries.

And a league position that they are now celebrating as a triumph if they can hold it for 24 hours.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.

That is the bar.

Not winning the league, not even staying top for a month.

If Celtic go back in pole position the day after, then that’s apparently “not the point”.

Well, I think it’s very much the point.

If you want to claim that you belong at the top, then you need to be there more than a day and a half.

I understand where the new found confidence is coming from, and I’ll give them that much

Now, I’ll be fair.

I know exactly why the Ibrox support are feeling cocky.

Celtic are in turmoil, and anybody with eyes can see it.

The board have made an absolute mess of the summer, the manager has been left short at every turn, and the support is at war with the people running our club.

Of course that is going to give the other side of the city a lift.

And fair play to them for the 1-0 win in the last derby.

Having said that, we all know it doesn’t take much for Celtic to get it together.

A few decisions made properly, a couple of bodies through the door and a fit squad, and suddenly we are in a position where we can beat that lot with ease.

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

Three weeks ago, the same people were telling us that an Ibrox win in the derby would open up an eight point gap.

Ferguson even mentions it in his own column, as if it proves something.

It proves that a gap in October means nothing.

Maybe this will be their year thanks to our wonderful board, but I wouldn’t be counting on it just yet

Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe this is their year.

If it is, they’ll have our board to thank for it.

Because if Dermot Desmond and Michael Nicholson continue to run the club like a business that’s worried about the balance sheet, then nobody should be surprised when other clubs sneak in.

That is the risk of treating a football club like a spreadsheet.

But I wouldn’t be counting on it just yet.

Kelsy and Naderi have had two good games against us, and they’re being talked about like the second coming.

Lawrence Shankland coming back from a torn hamstring is being treated like a major signing.

A dozen players back from international duty without an injury is being hailed as a stroke of good fortune.

That’s how low the bar has been set.

And that is the part that amuses me.

It never fails to amuse me how cocky people like Ferguson get when they string a few results together

Hand them three wins and they are talking about destiny.

Hand them a loss and the manager is “unlucky” and the board has to go.

It’s the same every single year.

They get ahead of themselves, they start talking about where they belong, and then reality has a habit of turning up on a Saturday afternoon.

So let them enjoy the 24 hours at the top if they manage to beat Kilmarnock.

Let them tell each other that the club is back.

A twelve year old club, a fortune spent on mediocrity and a column in the Daily Record to tell them how special they are.

Belong at the top?

Aye, right.

Watch this space…

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