Barry Ferguson names the Rangers 'excuse' from Philippe Clement he won't accept after Ross County nightmare

Barry Ferguson insists the Dens Park midweek drama would NOT have had a bearing on the shock loss at Ross County.

Ibrox boss Philippe Clement was searching for answers post-match after his side suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Staggies to hand the title advantage back to Brendan Rodgers and Celtic ahead of the vital final run-in. The Belgian claimed that 'strange preparation' could have have played it's part with his Rangers stars unable to do the training he wanted in the build-up with everything going on surrounding Wednesday's call-off.

However, when asked by caller on Go Radio for his expert opinion having been a player and if that would have had any impact on the result and performance, Record Sport columnist Ferguson was quick to shoot down any excuses in the midst of the Scottish Premiership title fight as he insisted it is something that footballers need to deal with.

He explained: "No, I honestly don't. Ideally you prepare to play on Wednesday then it's cancelled as you travel up on the Tuesday night. But look that would have no bearing on the result on Sunday.

"I am not taking that. Listen, It's not ideal but as a footballer you need to deal with those circumstances. So I would not use that as an excuse for the defeat yesterday."

His on air exchange came after Clement's post-match words in Dingwall. The Rangers boss said: “Maybe it’s because we had a really, really strange preparation this week but it’s not an excuse. We had a really strange week and couldn't have the training that we wanted but it's not an excuse.

"We needed to come here and take the three points and go home. And we didn't do that. But everyone was busy with things outside of football, in the club, so that's also something to keep in mind. To