Barry Ferguson hails 'proper Rangers performance' as verdict cast on red card decision + injury update on two stars

Barry Ferguson admits he has no complaints over Robin Propper’s red card award - admitting he could understand why the referee overturned his initial decision after a VAR review.

The interim Rangers manager was forced into an early defensive reshuffle when Dutch centre-back Propper was given his marching orders after just 12 minutes for a clumsy challenge on Inaki Williams on the edge of the box, one that was initially deemed a yellow card offence before being upgraded to a straight red card for denying a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Some late goalkeeping heroics from Liam Kelly to save Alex Berenguer’s 77th minute penalty ensured the Light Blues finally broke their five-match losing streak on home soil as they held the La Liga outfit for a goalless draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

Reflecting on the result, a satisfied Ferguson told TNT Sports: “That was a proper Rangers performance. That’s the exact reaction I wanted. That’s what I spoke about on Monday and the players tonight showed a performance full of heart, grit and determination.

“It was a bit chaotic (the sending off). I can see why the referee gave a red card, but at that stage you need to shuffle the pack. I had to play a way I didn’t necessarily want to. Some people had to put a real shift in and they did. There was a real togetherness and I keep saying to them I need to see that every week.”

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Asked about his bold pre-match decision to drop first-choice goalkeeper Jack Butland following a number of high-profile mistakes so far this season and replace him with Liam Kelly, Ferguson admitted: “Jack when he was in goals was great at saving penalties. Liam tonight came up trumps with a brilliant save.

“He was really good, but everyone who stepped across the white line gave everything tonight and I need to see that more. We’re still in the tie, it’s all to play for now. We’ll go over there and try to approach the game in a certain manner.

“We fully deserved what we got tonight, we just need to wait and see who’s fit and available now, but what an opportunity we’ve got and we need to grasp that with both hands.”

Providing an injury update on the condition of midfielder Bailey Rice, who had to be taken off on a stretcher following a nasty second half collision, and Dujon Sterling who was unable to continue after picking up a late knock, Ferguson added: “Bailey is alright, he’s been up and talking. Dujon will be sent for a scan first thing, we need to wait and see.

“I just need to see what kind of numbers (we’ve got available). It’ll probably need to be a fully changes team (vs Aberdeen) on Saturday because there are a lot of guys carrying knocks. There were a couple of guys I asked to go out and play for me and they did that.”

Read more: Rangers player ratings vs Athletic Bilbao: 10-men Gers earn first leg draw as Kelly stakes claim for No.1 jersey