Brendan Rodgers will lock horns with Barry Ferguson this Sunday in the final Glasgow derby of the 2024/25 campaign.
But the head-to-head won’t have too much on the line bar personal pride and city bragging rights given Celtic have already secured their fourth consecutive Premiership title.
That job was completed last weekend as the Hoops thrashed Dundee United 5-0. If the Terrors had won the game, Celtic would have had the chance to win the title at Ibrox.
Thankfully for Rangers fans, that wasn’t to be the case. However, Rodgers will still be eager to put things right having lost the two previous derby clashes between the teams.
Rodgers and Ferguson shook hands on Tuesday night at Firhill as both took in Rangers’ victory over Celtic in the 2025 Glasgow Cup final.
But despite their cordial interaction, Barry’s brother Derek thinks Rodgers was ‘dismissive’ of Ferguson after the last Glasgow derby game at Parkhead.
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Derek Ferguson claims Rodgers was ‘dismissive’ of brother Barry
In the lead-up to Rangers vs Celtic, Open Goal pundit and Barry’s brother Derek Ferguson recalled a moment when Rodgers was allegedly ‘dismissive’ of the interim Rangers manager.
Derek claimed that Rodgers said something along the lines of ‘he’s just a young coach’ and appeared to take it the wrong way.
Co-pundit and former Celtic kid Paul Slane appeared to agree with Derek, who said: “Was Rodgers not a wee bit dismissive the last time about Barry?
“There was something! I just thought it was a wee bit dismissive. ‘He’s just a young coach’, something like that.
“There was something, Slaney (Paul Slane) remembers. And I thought ‘hmm that’s interesting.'”
What Rodgers actually said about Rangers interim boss Ferguson
67 Hail Hail have had a look back at the transcripts from the interviews before and after Rangers beat Celtic 3-2 at Parkhead in March.
And as far as it seems, Rodgers said nothing of the kind about Barry Ferguson.
Rodgers has not explicitly referred to Ferguson as ‘just a young coach’, but did make remarks about the former Clyde manager’s relative inexperience in the dugout.
Here’s what Rodgers had to say about Ferguson before the March derby: “I don’t know Barry, but I know him as a player. I know that he’s gone in and has got a great connection with the supporters given his history and success at the club. He was a fantastic player for them.
“For me, if I look at it purely from a coach’s perspective, over the course of four games, I don’t see great change.
“I saw the team go 2-0 down at Kilmarnock but come back to win. I saw the defeat to Motherwell. I saw they went away and got a fantastic result against Fenerbahce, and then I saw the team lost 2-0 in the 90 minutes but won the tie.
“I’ve seen the system changed. So, there was a really good tactical change to go 4-5-1 in Fenerbahce, but it’s still similar to the same traits.
“You could look at Barry over a longer time. If you’re talking to me about coaching and managing, and tactics, man-management, professionalism and these things, that will be done over a period of time.
“If you’re looking at the short term, him coming in, some of the fans can connect with. Of course, he looks really happy to be in the job, as do his staff.
“But I think if you’re talking coaching, I see a lot of the same traits. Some very good performances and some inconsistencies.”
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