I'm a Celtic daft striker and I couldn't believe Barry Ferguson signed me

Sean Higgins would never have believed he’d see a day where he’d love playing for Barry Ferguson. And it’s got nothing to do with the fact he grew up a Celtic fan with a hefty aversion to seeing the Rangers legend lifting trophies.

The former Dundee and Ross County striker was one of Ferguson’s biggest signings as Clyde boss after he’d turned part-time in the latter stages of his career. Seeing his old manager take the reins at Ibrox this week was a surprise - but not half as much of a shock as seeing him take on the role with the Bully Wee over a decade ago.

Tonight at Kilmarnock Ferguson gets underway for real as Gers’ new caretaker boss alongside his trusted former team mates Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor. It’s a quartet Higgins knows well. As he puts it: he’s worked with three - and dinked the other. The 40-year-old was a team mate of McCann’s at Dundee while Dodds was assistant manager at Dens. And McGregor was on the wrong end of a cheeky finish off Higgins’ boot over two decades ago. But it was under Ferguson at Clyde that he really had his eyes opened to professionalism and standards.

Those are non-negotiables he insists will come as a rude awakening for any member of the Rangers dressing room that thinks he can coast. But Higgins also reckons Ferguson might need to LOWER his expectations from his own silverware-laden playing days. He told Record Sport : “I didn't think Barry Ferguson would ever be my manager. Let's be honest. When you look at his playing career, I was just as shocked as everybody else that he took the Clyde job.

“I was a big Celtic fan growing up but you put that to the side. Okay I didn't like him at Rangers because he was so successful! That's just normal, as a football fan.