Former Rangers hero tells club not to contradict Steven Gerrard with club statements

Barry Ferguson has told his former club to go easy on the club statements after Rangers ‘contradicted’ their manager over Jon Flanagan’s retrospective punishment by the SFA.

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The defender faces a two-match ban after he was charged for elbowing Scott Brown during last Sunday’s Old Firm clash at Ibrox.

The club released a statement in the wake of the decision, criticising the inconsistency of the disciplinary process and questioning why Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic was not cited for colliding with Jermain Defoe earlier in the match.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard. Picture: SNS

Gerrard had already accepted that Flanagan deserved to be punished for his action and Ferguson believes Rangers should allow their manager to be the voice of authority.

He wrote in his column for the Daily Record: “In this instance the SFA were 100 per cent right to haul up Flanagan. There have been countless cases this season which should never have made it as far as Hampden. But this is the very type of incident that does deserve to be punished retrospectively. So it makes no sense to pick a fight over it.

“What I also found really strange about this latest statement is it seemed to go against the stance Steven Gerrard has taken over the past couple of weeks.”

He continues: “For someone at the club to then write that statement defending the indefensible struck me as incredibly bizarre. Is no one in there actually paying attention to what the manager is trying to do? Can’t they just allow him to lead the club the best way he sees fit?

“I find it strange that someone in there thinks it’s a good idea to contradict Gerrard. Would it not make much more sense just to put the pen down and allow him to control the message? Honestly, I just don’t get it.

“Why go to the trouble of bringing in a guy as respected as Gerrard and then totally ignore the standards he is trying to set? Is there someone in there who thinks he knows how to run a football club better?

“It’s not the first time one of these statements has been sanctioned and almost every time I’ve been left scratching my head, wondering exactly what they think they’re trying to achieve.”