Rangers boss Barry Ferguson reacts to 0-0 Europa League quarter-final first leg with Athletic Bilbao
Ibrox, Glasgow, UK
Courtesy of UEFA
Ibrox, Glasgow, UK
Courtesy of UEFA
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SportsTranscript
00:00C, sorry.
00:18Barry, how's the heart rate?
00:22It was a bit all over the place, I haven't been honest with you during the game,
00:25but really proud of the effort and the commitment.
00:30That my players showed tonight, obviously difficult when you go down to ten men.
00:36You have to go and play two banks of four, really deep.
00:41But I thought the game plan that I gave them,
00:45they worked ever so hard to make sure they never get broken down.
00:48They had a couple of chances like every very good team is going to have against you,
00:52but I thought we defended really well and we coped with their threat.
00:57Can you make it make sense that a team that had gone ten games without keeping a clean sheet
01:02and losing a player so early on tonight against one of the top teams in La Liga
01:07is able to keep them out even with nine men in what was a lengthy stoppage time?
01:12Well, listen, it has been a problem conceding goals.
01:16Even before that, I came in.
01:18Since I've come in, that's one of the areas where we've tried to work really hard at it.
01:23We worked really hard Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday on it.
01:27And that's what I want to see from my defenders that want to defend.
01:31And it's not just about the defenders.
01:33I need my midfield to chip in and I need my forward players to chip in
01:37because you've got to remember it's not all about individuals, it's a team sport.
01:41And what I've seen tonight out there was a team that took the instructions on.
01:46Obviously, the chat we had on Monday really sunk in and they took the information in as well.
01:58And that's important.
01:59And I think anybody watching the game tonight would have seen a team that will run through brick walls for each other.
02:07Barry, any complaints with the sending off?
02:10No, I've seen it. I can see the reason why the referee gave the red card.
02:15I've seen them giving and I've seen them no giving.
02:18It is what it is, the referee makes a decision.
02:21We just have to go on with it.
02:23It kind of curtails our game plan.
02:27Then we need to go back to something different.
02:30But again, I'm proud of the guys, how they took that information on.
02:35It's not the way that we wanted to play this game.
02:39But I thought overall, the boys, after letting them know a few home truths on Saturday and Monday,
02:48I've got to give them a lot of credit for tonight.
02:51Just on that, Barry, you said after the weekend's game that you were going to make changes.
02:57I just wondered how tough a call it was for you to replace Jack with Liam
03:02and what a way he's taken that opportunity.
03:04One of the toughest things I've had to do.
03:06Firstly, I think Jack Butland is a top goalkeeper.
03:10Secondly, I've got a very, very good relationship with Jack.
03:14I've known Jack a long time.
03:15He was a young kid coming through at Birmingham when I went down to play for Birmingham in the Premier League.
03:21Thirdly, I've got to know it's hurting Jack and I've got to be mindful of that as well.
03:27Because I care for him.
03:29So I just had to make a decision and it was a tough decision when I spoke to him.
03:34I could see he was hurting.
03:36So, yeah, you go with decisions.
03:41It's not one that I decided on Saturday night or Sunday.
03:44I thought long and hard about it.
03:46And when I spoke to him, it was a tough 10-15 minutes conversation.
03:51But, listen, Jack still got a huge part to play here.
03:54But in terms of Liam coming in, I thought he'd done well tonight, Liam.
03:58Barry, Liam's obviously one of six changes tonight from the team that started on Saturday.
04:06You said in the press conference earlier this week that you should have the responsibility for that.
04:10Are you satisfied with how the changes worked?
04:12Second of all, how's Bailey Rice?
04:14For 10 minutes, I was satisfied because I had 11 men on the pitch.
04:18Then it kind of goes to pot.
04:23But in terms of the changes, it's an opportunity.
04:25I'm going to give people opportunities.
04:27I'm happy with performance.
04:28I'm going to make changes.
04:30That's just part and parcel of being a manager.
04:33Some of them are tough at times.
04:37And, again, a lot of people seeing an 18-year-old kid who I think is behind in development.
04:44But I've been working really hard with Bailey for five and a half weeks since I've been through the door.
04:48I think there's a real footballer there.
04:49He's just got stuff he needs to learn.
04:51But I thought he handled the occasion brilliantly.
04:54One coming in and the other one's robbing obviously 10 minutes.
04:57He last.
04:58Leon Balligan.
04:59I know what I'm getting from him.
05:01Ridvan's been carrying an injury.
05:03Come on.
05:04He's had to come off with another injury.
05:06But listen, I was happy with everybody.
05:08But also the guys that come on as well because they're disappointed in the bench.
05:11But I want to see players disappointed because that means they care.
05:15If I don't play people and they're laughing and joking, that's when I've got a problem.
05:20But in terms of the changes, yep, they come in and they've done their job.
05:24But also the guys that come on have done the job also for the team.
05:29As you sit here just now, Barry, how do you feel to set up for the second leg and do you?
05:32Are you going with the rest guys at the weekend but next week in mind?
05:35Or how do you think we go out?
05:37Robert, I don't even know how many players I've got available.
05:39I need to wait until tomorrow.
05:41We're in tomorrow.
05:42There's a number of guys struggling, they're going for scans tomorrow.
05:48There was a couple of guys that I risked tonight.
05:52But I just thought it was a big occasion for the club and I had to go with the risks
05:58and they might backfire on me.
06:00I just need to wait and see the kind of results and the reports I get back from the doctor
06:05and the medical staff.
06:08Yep, we're still in the tie.
06:09I said to them before the game, we need to make sure we're in this tie.
06:13And certainly the tie is there for us to go and try and get through into the semi-finals.
06:20But it's the same for Bilbao.
06:21They're still in the tie, they're at home.
06:24But we'll go and give it our best shot.
06:29We'll set it up in a way that he'll try and get us hopefully into the semi-final.
06:34Barry, you mentioned the goalkeeper and the defence there.
06:37I think in the second half, Bilbao had over 80% possession, but their only shot on target
06:41was the save penalty.
06:42How pleased are you with that?
06:44Yeah, I couldn't care less of the 100% possession.
06:46I said that to the boys.
06:48So making sure we don't concede.
06:50And we've done that.
06:52We had to play a certain way, as I said, really low, two banks of four really tight together.
06:58And if somebody jumps out of that, then it causes his problems.
07:02But again, I'm delighted that they took the information on.
07:05And it was key that we had to do that.
07:07But look, they're a quality team.
07:12You've seen it.
07:13They've got very, very good football players.
07:15And look, it'll be a tough one for us next Thursday.
07:18Last one, Andrew.
07:19Barry, you talked about getting the response you wanted from your players for the talks
07:22earlier on in the week.
07:23But is this just the start really?
07:24It needs to just keep on continuing?
07:25You keep on getting the response game on game from the players?
07:28Yeah, I'm not happy with one game.
07:30Listen, I'm delighted for them and I'm proud of them.
07:32Standing in the touchline was a totally different feeling I had from Saturday.
07:37I felt empty on Saturday, the last 10-15 minutes, just like the stadium.
07:41But standing there at the side, I was proud of them.
07:43And that's the way I need to feel.
07:44And that's the performances and the effort that this group of players need to put in.
07:49And I've told them, if you do that, you have better chances of winning games of football.
07:54And as I said, that's what I asked.
07:57And that's what I got tonight.
07:59And that's what I need to see going forward.
08:01Thanks, guys.
08:02All right, cheers.
08:04Thanks.