Hurting Rangers icon reveals key factor that 'sticks in my throat' as Celtic loss leaves sour taste in his mouth

Barry Ferguson has questioned the desire of Philippe Clement’s new-look Rangers team - admitting their capitulation against Celtic will stick in his throat for a while as he re-lived his Parkhead nightmare.

Fans anger boiled over in the wake of Sunday’s 3-0 Old Firm loss at the home of their arch rivals, with footage on social media showing supporters hurdling criticism at players and manager Philippe Clement outside Ibrox. Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor did the damage for the Hoops, with the Ibrox side failing to lay a glove on the reigning Premiership champions.

And downbeat former Gers captain Ferguson declared he has also been left with an overwhelming sense of frustration, largely down to the manner of the defeat. As a player, the 45-time capped Scotland international endured some low points in his career but always displayed a degree of fight instead of wilting under the pressure.

Speaking in the Daily Record, he said: “There was something about the way Rangers unravelled on Sunday afternoon which has left a lingering sense of frustration. There’s an old saying in the game that says there’s a proper way to lose a match. I’m not sure I ever really agreed with that on the basis that I couldn’t stand being on the wrong end of any defeat against any opposition. But what I saw on Sunday was certainly not the Rangers I expected.

“What annoyed me the most was that, as soon as Celtic got up the pitch for the first time and Kyogo Furuhashi put the ball in Jack Butland’s net, it looked as if their heads went. All of a sudden they seemed to be spooked by the occasion and from that moment they didn’t make Celtic really have to work for the three points. And that’s the bit that really sticks in my throat.

“Look, I’ve been on the end of some bad results on that side of the city and they are the hardest thing to take, especially when you’ve been brought up a Rangers man. But even when games were getting away from us out there, I always felt I had a responsibility to make them work for it.

“What you can’t do is start to feel sorry for yourself when you’re wearing that shirt and that was the feeling I got the longer the first half went on. It seemed as if some of them didn’t even want to be out there – when they still had plenty of time to actually do something about it.

“If you’re going down in the heat of a derby match then you’ve got to go down fighting and I didn’t see enough of that never-say-die attitude from Philippe Clement’s players. It was as if they accepted it. I was left wondering how many of these guys actually feel the same pain. I’m not saying they should have resorted to taking bodies or trying to knock someone’s head off. I’m talking about showing a bit of anger and disappointment and a desire to turn things around.”

Ferguson watched his old club unravel from the Celtic Park directors’ box. He added: “I'm not going to lie. This one hurts. Maybe it was because I was there to watch it with my own eyes, sitting in the directors’ box at Parkhead. Perhaps it was the joy on the faces of the Celtic fans when they were doing their wee huddle dance and laughing in my face when their team was 3-0 up. It was interesting, let’s just leave it at that.”