Ferguson on 'long chat' with squad, consistency & Bilbao

[ASFN Admin]

Rangers interim head coach Barry Ferguson has been speaking to the media before their Europa League quarter-final first leg against Athletic Bilbao.

Here are the key points:

• Ferguson revealed that the players and staff had a "long, long chat" in the days following the 2-0 defeat to Hibernian, resulting in a record fifth straight defeat at Ibrox.
• "I aired my views, so did my staff and so did the players, which I was happy with," he said.
• The former Rangers captain insisted that five straight defeats at home is "just not good enough", adding that the players are now "totally clear on what way we're going to approach the rest of the season, not just tomorrow night".
• When asked how they might approach the remainder of the campaign, Ferguson responded by saying: "You'll see when the team comes out and you'll see when the game starts."
• When pressed on why performances have been so mixed with European highs followed by domestic lows, he explained he has a "good idea" and he hopes to see "more consistency from now on".
• "We've played really well in some games, in other games it's just been a totally different team. That's something we've hopefully got to the bottom of," he continued.
• Ferguson refused to confirm whether he had any individual conversation with goalkeeper Jack Butland, who has made a number of costly mistakes in recent games.
• He added that Athletic Bilbao have "quality all over the team" and he views them as "probably favourites for the competition" and "a step up again" from Fenerbahce, who Rangers defeated in the previous round.

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