Barry Ferguson

Club

Rangers (first spell)

Ferguson was promoted to the first-team squad for the 1996–97 season. He made his debut on the last day of that season against Hearts on 10 May 1997. He made a number of sporadic appearances the following season under manager Walter Smith's policy of easing him into the first team. Ferguson became a regular fixture in the first team during the 1998–99 season under new manager Dick Advocaat (displacing fellow youth graduate Charlie Miller). The Dutchman soon secured Ferguson on a long-term contract as he became an important member of the squad. He scored his first career goal in a League Cup match against Alloa Athletic on 18 August 1998, and played against his brother on three occasions during that season when Rangers faced Dunfermline Athletic, with a 20-year-old Ferguson scoring his first league goal in the match at East End Park. His brother, then 31 years old, made his last appearance at Ibrox in the reverse fixture. Injury prevented him from being involved in the 1998–99 season run-in as the club achieved the treble; Ferguson watched the 1999 Scottish Cup final from the stands as Rangers won by a single goal, scored by Rod Wallace three minutes into the second half. Ferguson was so influential the following season that he was given an extended six-year deal at Rangers in October 1999. He was named the Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for 1999–2000, a season in which Rangers retained the Premier…

Clyde

In June 2014, Ferguson was appointed player-manager of Scottish League Two club Clyde. Clyde were drawn away to Rangers in the Challenge Cup after a 2–0 home win against Ayr United; Rangers won 8–1. On 27 September, Ferguson made his playing debut against Annan Athletic in a 1–1 draw at Broadwood, but came off early in the second half with an injury. Towards the end of the 2–0 defeat to Lowland League club Spartans in the second round of the Scottish Cup, Ferguson was sent to the stands after a verbal altercation with Clyde supporters. In April 2015, Ferguson said that he had retired as a player. In his second season at Clyde, the team came third and reached the play-offs, in which they defeated Elgin City 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. In the final, however, they lost 3–2 to Queen's Park, despite winning the second leg 1–0 at Hampden. Clyde went on a poor run of form during his third season, failing to win a league match in December, January or February. With the club sitting in eighth place in late February, Ferguson resigned.

Kelty Hearts

In October 2018, Ferguson had discussions with Lowland League club Kelty Hearts about becoming their new manager. He was offered and accepted the position later that month. Hearts finished third in the Lowland League in Ferguson's first season in charge. They won the championship the following season, 2019–20, after it was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ferguson guided Kelty into the SPFL for the…

Ferguson regularly appears on STV's Peter & Roughie's Football Show and the online sports show PLZ Soccer – Football Show. He also has a regular column in the Daily Record newspaper.

Born in Hamilton into a Rangers-supporting family, Ferguson's older brother Derek played for the club in the same midfield position in the 1980s, with the younger sibling often being invited behind the scenes at Ibrox Stadium as a child. Around the age of 8 he began playing for Mill United in Hamilton. In his early teens, although highly rated, he made it into the last thirty or so candidates for the Scotland Schoolboys squad at trials in Largs only to be rejected due to his 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) stature. Having trained with Rangers since 1991, Ferguson signed a professional contract upon finishing his education at Brannock High School in 1994. Aside from his brother, Ferguson's idol was Ian Durrant, who was still an important player when he joined the club.