Derek McInnes hoping Barry Ferguson has tough debut as Rangers interim boss

Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes is hellbent on ensuring “fierce competitor” Barry Ferguson has a difficult first match in charge of Rangers at Rugby Park.

The ex-Ibrox captain will kick off his stint as interim Gers manager against Killie on Wednesday after being handed the reins until the end of the season, following the sacking of Philippe Clement on Sunday.

McInnes was a team-mate of Ferguson and his assistants Billy Dodds and Neil McCann at Rangers in the late 1990s and expects them to try to breathe new life into a beleaguered dressing room.

However, his main objective is to make sure his Killie team – who have won two of their last three home games against the Light Blues – pick up a result to bolster their top-six quest.

“I think the context of it in the build-up has obviously changed from Rangers’ perspective,” said McInnes.

“First and foremost, I know managers say it all the time, but I’m always disappointed when a manager loses his job and I think I’ve got to make reference to Philippe leaving.

“It was challenging for him at times, but I do think throughout it all he handled it with so much class and dignity about him and obviously I’m sorry to see him lose his job.

“But with that, obviously Barry comes in with his team and they’re all boys that I know well.

“I’ve played with and shared dressing rooms with them and I’m sure Barry will be trying to instil what he believes should be there in a Rangers team – what a Rangers team should look like – and it’s a great opportunity for Barry, of course.

“Barry was a hugely-talented player, he was always that when he first came through at Rangers, we were all aware of his talent, but talent alone doesn’t get the job done at a club like Rangers.

“For me, he was a fierce competitor and you need to be fiercely competitive to succeed at Rangers and he showed that with how good a player he was.

“I think that what he’ll try and do, and the lads will try and do, is just try and instil a bit of confidence through that competitive nature, I would imagine.

“But that’s their job. My job is to try and make sure we are equally as competitive and see the opportunity that’s there in front of us and hopefully we can be as good as we have been in previous seasons against Rangers here and get a win.”

McInnes turned down the chance to manage Rangers back in 2017 and has once again been mentioned as a potential contender to take over on a permanent basis.

“My job is here at Kilmarnock, it’s my job to look after this club and it feels like I’ve done that since I came here,” he said, when asked about his name being linked to the Ibrox role.

“We’ve done some good work here, but our intention is to get to the top six – that’s my only concern.”