Rangers icon claims key decision made him a ‘believer’ as former Dundee coach takes on key role at EFL club

Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibs will turn their attention to the Scottish Cup as they both prepare for away trips to Championship opposition.

Third placed Hearts will want to continue their excellent start to the calendar year against play-off chasers Airdrieonians as Hibs prepare to make the trip to Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness CT.

Both sides have high aspirations of achieving silverware this season and will hope to go as deep into the competition as possible. Hearts’ last Scottish Cup triumph came back in 2012 while Hibs last taste of silverware in this competition came in 2016.

In the meantime there are plenty of talking points surrounding the duo’s Scottish Premiership rivals as a Rangers icon reveals the key decision which made him a believer again as a former Dundee coach completes a move to an EFL club.

Rangers icon discusses the key decision which made him a ‘believer’ again

Rangers hero and five time title-winner Barry Ferguson has been waxing lyrical about the impact of manager Philippe Clement. The Belgian moved to Ibrox in mid-October - replacing former boss Michael Beale after a lacklustre start to the campaign.

Ferguson admitted he had lost faith in Rangers’ title hopes before Clement’s appointment as the club had already fallen seven points behind their fierce city rivals Celtic in the title race after just seven games. He praised the board for taking their time with the Clement appointment and claims the decision has made him a ‘believer’ that his former club can regain the Premiership title.

Speaking with the Daily Record, he explained: “I did fear the game was up for this season’s title bid. I was a big believer as a player that you always had to fight to the end, no matter if you were five, 10 or 15 points behind. But after watching that 3-1 defeat to the Dons at Ibrox, I was seriously worried about where Rangers were heading.

“They could have rushed into an appointment and compounded one bad move in giving the gig to Beale with another. But this time they bought themselves a bit of time by bringing in Steven Davis and Alex Rae in as caretakers and used the October international to do their homework on Philippe Clement. And so far, it’s paying off.”

He added that the upcoming weeks will be a huge test of the team’s mental strength, but claims he has complete faith in the manager to get the team over the line.

He added: “Rangers simply have to be mega-focused over the next three and a half months. They have to be zoned in and respectful of what Celtic can do. If Rangers make sure they look after one thing, and that is themselves, then they have a fantastic chance. But I have faith in this manager.”

Former Dundee coach completes move to struggling EFL club

Former Dundee coach Billy Barr has been appointed as the new first team coach of Carlisle United on a deal until the end of the season, as confirmed by the club’s official website.

Barr arrives to enhance the backroom staff of manager Paul Simpson as the Cumbrians aim to beat the drop. Barr is a familiar face with Carlisle fans and made 91 appearances at full back between 1997 and 2000.

Barr has worked closely with Gary Bowyer for large stages of his career. He served as assistant boss last season at Dundee as the team won the Championship title, but the pair departed before the start of the new Scottish Premiership season.