Barry Ferguson has warned his Rangers players they had “better change” their ways for the visit of Celtic to Ibrox on Sunday.
The former Gers captain was installed as boss until the end of the season after Philippe Clement left in February but there has been little notable improvement.
With four William Hill Premiership fixtures remaining the Light Blues are 17 points behind Celtic, who clinched their 13th title in 14 seasons when they hammered Dundee United 5-0 at Tannadice last weekend.
Rangers drew 2-2 at St Mirren the same day, leaving a frustrated Ferguson with only four wins from his 11 games in charge – although the Gers have beaten Celtic in their last two meetings, including a 3-2 win at Parkhead when he was in the technical area.
In an interview following the draw in Paisley, Ferguson claimed his side had not carried out instructions despite him imploring them individually and collectively – and he is looking for a response in the final Old Firm game of the season.
“There was a lot of frustration for a number of reasons because I wasn’t happy with the way the game went,” said the former Rangers captain, who revealed defender Leon Balogun has trained with a mask after a minor operation on a cracked cheekbone.
“Again, the full week, we’ve spent a bit of time moving through certain scenarios that I wasn’t happy with.
“We still obviously have another day to go. We’ll do a lot more work tomorrow, but they are clear on what I wasn’t happy with and I expect a big improvement in Sunday.
“It better change and it has to change. It’s something we have spoken about as a group and I expect them to take the information on.
“I couldn’t care less about the performance. I just want to get three points. It’s a bonus for me if you play well in the games.
“I don’t tend to look what happened in the past. That (Parkhead win) was a number of weeks ago and I’ll expect the same level, if not better in Sunday.”
Whether Ferguson is in the post or not next season – a US-based consortium are in the midst of a takeover bid which may take the club in a different direction on and off the park – the former Scotland midfielder is keen to lay down a marker against Brendan Rodgers’ side, who are bidding for another domestic treble.
He said: “It (Sunday) means a lot to me, I’ve said that, and it needs to mean a lot to everybody inside the building.
“It’s been a really disappointing season but it’s not a dead rubber.
“You are coming up against your fiercest rivals who again have dominated this season. That hurts.
⏪ Last time round at Ibrox 👀@WilliamHill | @RangersFC pic.twitter.com/yHLyASp64W
— SPFL (@spfl) May 2, 2025
“So we need to go up against them and give them a reminder that we’re going to be here next season.
“We need to challenge, certainly in a better manner than which we have done this season.”
On the issue of a guard of honour for champions Celtic, which reared its head again this week, Ferguson said: “I’ve been asked quite a few times about this, it’s never happened in the past.
“I don’t know why there’s always a big clamour about a guard of honour.
“It’s never happened whether it’s Celtic, whether it’s Rangers, and I think it will always just remain that way.
“Celtic are champions for a reason, because they have been the most consistent throughout the season, we haven’t, but in terms of a guard of honour, I don’t see that.”
