The Duncan Ferguson Rangers regret as Ibrox insider draws Souness and Gerrard parallels

Neil Murray admits he wishes Rangers had seen the best of Duncan Ferguson as a player after the return of one of Scottish football’s biggest names.

The 51-year-old returned to the game north of the border almost 30 years after leaving when he joined Everton from Rangers as he took up the Inverness managerial post. Ferguson moved to Ibrox from Dundee United in a then record £4million move but it was a time shrouded in controversy.

On the park, Ferguson didn’t hit the heights many expected and Mark Hateley responded to the challenge of the signing. His spell at Rangers also saw him spend 44 days in jail when he became the first player in British football to be sent behind bars for an on-field incident - a headbutt on Raith Rovers defender John McStay.

Ferguson ended up moving to Goodison Park where he became a legend for two spells, sandwiched between a stint at Newcastle United. But former Light Blues midfielder Murray, who also served as a scout at Ibrox after he retired, wished it had worked out. He told Lucky Block: “If Dunc could’ve played for Rangers the way he did for Everton, it would’ve been a massive plus for Rangers. To be fair to Dunc, going down south was probably the best thing that happened to him.

“Rangers is life in a goldfish bowl and, being the most expensive signing, a lot of pressure came with it off the field. The move away to England took the pressure off because he was one of a number of high-profile players in England, rather than being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. It was a blessing, from a personal point of view, to go down south and have a successful career. From a Rangers point of view, it was unfortunate.

“You’ve also got to pay tribute in a certain way that Mark Hateley was the main