Rangers interim head coach Barry Ferguson on their stunning 3-1 UEFA Europa League last 16 first leg win over Fenerbahce
Ulker Stadium, Istanbul, Turkiye
Ulker Stadium, Istanbul, Turkiye
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00:00Barry,
00:07well, quite a night.
00:08Where does that rank for you in your career as a player and now manager of Rangers?
00:14Yes, listen, I thought it was a really good performance from my team.
00:19They gave me everything that I asked for
00:23from the start of the week.
00:25And as you've seen,
00:26we went a different way from what we're used to playing.
00:30So they took a lot of information in.
00:33One thing I've got to give them is credit,
00:35because they took every single thing that me and my coaching staff
00:40went over on the training ground.
00:42And I thought tonight, at times, going forward,
00:46we looked a real threat.
00:47And then I thought defensively,
00:50the guys put their bodies on the line.
00:52So overall, it was a brilliant result,
00:53but there's no way that I'm getting carried away here.
00:58This is only half-time in the tie.
01:01Fernabaci are, in my opinion, as I said yesterday,
01:04a very good team who I think are one of the favourites to win this competition.
01:07And also they've got one of the best managers there's ever been.
01:10So they're going to be hurting.
01:12I said that to the players.
01:13So we'll have a couple of days rest because they worked ever so hard tonight.
01:17And then we'll get back to work because it's a big game for us next Thursday.
01:21And we all know that we've struggled this season at times at Ibrox.
01:27So, look, I gave them a pat on the back.
01:32We'll go and enjoy the night, because I always say enjoy victories.
01:35But we'll get back to work in a couple of days
01:37because next Thursday is going to be huge for us.
01:42Harry, a fantastic performance.
01:44Is the only frustration for you that it's not a bigger margin of victory,
01:48given those narrow offside calls that ruled out the two goals?
01:52I've not seen them back, if I'm being honest with you.
01:54But look, it's easy when you go and score a couple of goals
01:57and they get disallowed to start feeling sorry for yourself.
02:01But one thing they did, they kept going, they stuck to the game plan.
02:05And I thought when we attacked, we looked a real danger.
02:08We broke with pace.
02:10That's something that we've worked on.
02:12Just having a solid base, which I think at times this season,
02:15we've not been in that solid way.
02:18So they were really solid defensively, but we were broke.
02:22We caused them problems.
02:23And look, if you asked me before the game if this was going to be the result,
02:27I would have took it.
02:28But of course, it would be easier if it was another couple of goals.
02:30But that's the way football works.
02:32I'm not going to complain.
02:34I've not seen them back, as I said.
02:35I don't know if they were close or very close.
02:39But look, I'm still happy that we scored three goals away from home.
02:42Barry, we were talking yesterday about the limited time that you've had on the training pitch with the players.
02:48How big a gamble was it to change the shape for the game tonight?
02:52It was a gamble, but it was a gamble I was prepared to take.
02:56I've watched, as I said yesterday, I've watched Fenerbahce nine or ten times.
03:02And I just thought I had to change the shape.
03:06I thought about it on Sunday, debated with my coaching staff.
03:12They weren't too sure.
03:14But I had my way.
03:17I thought that we could get a result.
03:19And then we obviously started to get to work on that on Tuesday.
03:23So, as I said, I've got to give my players credit because it's no easy changing system.
03:28And it was a big change for them.
03:29There was a lot of change within the kind of way that I wanted to play.
03:34They've never played that before.
03:36So, yes, I give my players huge credit.
03:39But as I said, I'm not going to get carried away with it because it's only half-time in the tie.
03:45And we need to go in and make sure that we give that sort of level of performance next Thursday night.
03:52Barry, how is Robben proper?
03:55And also, at one point, you seemed to hand something to the fourth official.
03:58Was something thrown at you or near you or something?
04:02Listen, in terms of Robben, I think he got knocked out for a minute or two.
04:07But look, the big man's up and walking, so he should be OK.
04:11But you've got to be wary of that. It's a bit of a concussion.
04:13So we'll see how he is in the next couple of days.
04:16And in terms of things getting thrown, they were just getting a bit frustrated.
04:19But I have no issue with that.
04:21Oh, here we go, come on, man.
04:41Sorry, could you repeat your question?
04:43Can you hear me now? Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
04:46No.
04:49Both channels.
04:58Yes.
05:19I'm in as manager until the end of the season.
05:23I'm not going to be dealing with, in terms of Rydvan...
05:32As I said, he's came and he's played a number of positions.
05:36He went and played right back from the last week.
05:39He's played right wing back today.
05:41I think he's got a...
05:43Well, I would like to think he's got a future at Rangers.
05:46But the main focus for me is just making sure I get as many wins as possible until the end of the season.
05:58Barry, Cyril Destler is somebody who takes his fair share of the stick at times tonight.
06:03But I just wondered if you could give your assessment of his performance?
06:06Because he's so very close to getting a hat-trick tonight.
06:09Yes, well, one thing I've always said about big Cyril is he gives you 100%.
06:15I thought tonight, at times, again, he's shown that he can be a real quality striker.
06:21He knows he needs to work on some things.
06:24But one thing about him is he's one of the guys, after training, that will stay behind and work on some weaknesses that maybe we see or he sees in his game.
06:33But again, I thought he led the line superbly tonight.
06:37And I was absolutely delighted for him.
06:39Can I just ask, obviously there was some sad news this morning, some tragic news this morning.
06:42Can I just get your reaction to that with the death of Christopher Potter?
06:46Yes, listen, we're devastated and our thoughts go with the man's family and friends.
06:54It's never nice to hear things like that.
06:56That's all I really know.
06:59I get informed about it at lunch.
07:01So, as I say, our thoughts from the Holy Rangers Football Club go to his family and friends.
07:10Barry, given how effective the back three was tonight, is that a formation you can maybe explore domestically or is it just horses for courses?
07:18This was the one for tonight.
07:20Listen, whatever opposition I come up against, I'll have a look at them the way that they play.
07:27And I need to maybe adjust at times.
07:30But we need to be flexible as a team.
07:33That's something that I don't think we have been in the past.
07:37And look, people say it may have been a gamble, but I put my trust in the players and that's important to me.
07:43And as I said, we only worked for a short period of time and they took all the information.
07:49And that's all you can ask as a manager and as a coach and stuff.
07:53Beansport owner Çubukçu said that the Mourinho tour is not over yet. How close do you think you are to the tour?
08:23As I mentioned earlier on, he's one of the best it's ever been.
08:26And when you look at his team, he has got players that are really dangerous and can really affect games.
08:32So there's no way that we think we're in the last eight.
08:36I would be an absolute idiot if I thought that.
08:39Because as I said, I've got respect.
08:41I respect Fernabacci.
08:43And we need to go and take a couple of days, rest and recover, and make sure we focus on Fernabacci next Thursday.
08:52Because I'm telling you one thing, it's going to be a real difficult tie for us.