Barron hails impact of Ferguson as he looks to learn at the feet of former Ibrox midfield icon

Despite being only aged seven at the time when Barry Ferguson made his final appearance for Rangers, Connor Barron has never required anyone to appraise him of the impact the club’s former skipper made across two spells at Ibrox.

A winner of 15 major honours between 1997 and 2009, Ferguson is a veritable club legend, a highly gifted midfielder whose talent distinguished him even in some of the finest sides of recent years.

So, while news of his elevation to interim manager three years after his last posting at Alloa raised more than a few eyebrows at the time, the development immediately resonated with the young man from Aberdeenshire with an inherent appetite for self-betterment.

‘Barry has been brilliant,’ said Barron. ‘He’s come in and looked to improve me as a player which is great.

‘We’ve been on the training pitch after a session a few times and I’m trying to pick up everything I can from him. He was a top player so any little nuggets I can get from him is going to help me as a player.

‘I know all about his playing career, of course. He’s a legend in Scotland for this club and I watched some of his clips when I knew he was coming in as manager. I was a bit young to watch him, but he was a top player and he’s a great guy.

‘The staff have been brilliant since they came in. Barry can help me and he’s already taken control of that. I can’t thank him enough for that.

‘I just need to keep improving and he’s on the same page with that.’

Barron is just thankful that the training pitch is once again his place of learning. Having sustained minor ligament damage when Rangers lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford in January, he was forced to sit out seven games before returning as an unused substitute in last weekend’s home defeat to Motherwell.

Rather than consider his enforced absence a moment when the pause button was pressed on his development, though, he opted to get his mind in a different place.

‘No injury is nice, but it’s about how you react to it and what you learn while you’re out,’ he explained. ‘It was nice to see things from a different angle.

‘I’ve studied the game a lot and picked up on different parts of my own game I think I can improve on. I went away and did that and I feel better for it.

‘You pick up a lot when you’re out. You see the game from a different perspective, watching from the stands. You analyse it more and look at things in different positions to see what you could do better. You start to watch from a fan’s point of view.

‘I also looked at the nutritional side — just everything I can do to make myself a better professional. I’m feeling the benefits from that already.’

That point was underscored in triplicates in Istanbul on Thursday. Having been forced to sit and suffer on the bench as Rangers’ poor domestic form continued with that loss to the Fir Park outfit, Barron’s return to the fold was the stuff of dreams.

While Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny provided the goals, Barron’s tenacious midfield display laid the foundations for a spectacular 3-1 win. Talk about coming back to make an impact.

‘It was tough to watch from the sidelines when the team had disappointing results, it’s never nice,’ he said. ‘But you just have to go back in and pick everyone up in training.

‘It was brilliant to start after being out. Every game for this club means a lot to me. I was buzzing to get thrown back in.

‘I had to go out and do a job, that’s just me doing what I have to do. I don’t look at it any differently and I’m looking forward to the next one.

‘I didn’t see it as being thrown in at the deep end in Istanbul. It’s where I’m comfortable. I feel comfortable at this club and I know what I can do with my own performances.

‘It was just another game for me. It was a brilliant result and great team performance. We could have won by more.’

The difference between Thursday’s display and many which had come on home soil recently was stark. Passive from the very first whistle against the link of Queen’s Park, St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Motherwell, Rangers began the game like they meant business. It appears the penny has dropped.

‘The fast start was so important to us in the first leg,’ Barron added. ‘The crowd was there for them, backing them. It was pretty hostile so it’s important you know your jobs to help each other out.

‘We showed on Thursday night what can happen when we start quickly and we need to continue that. It’s important we do that again at Ibrox. It has to be the way we play going forward.

‘Too many times this season we’ve started slow and it’s cost us, or we’ve had to get ourselves back in games which is difficult. But if we start quick, we’ve shown we can get results.’

Perform as they did in Turkey this week and Rangers will surely snuff out any remaining hope Fenerbahce have of turning the tie around. Ferguson’s players have put themselves in an extremely good position against Jose Mourinho’s side yet they know this one isn’t yet over.

‘Hopefully on Thursday at Ibrox, we can put the tie to bed and progress again in the Europa League,’ said Barron. ‘That performance gives us a lot of belief, but we know they’re a top side.

‘We’ll respect them like we did on Thursday, but try to implement our style. We’ll have the backing of the home support this time which will be great.

‘It’s only half-time so it’s dangerous to think the tie is done. As a player, you know how quickly football can change. You have to do your job properly.

‘So, we’ll have to replicate what we did in Istanbul — and go one better at Ibrox.’