Football management moves pretty fast. Last Saturday Barry Ferguson was being beaten at home by Motherwell. Five days later the interim head coach was leading Rangers to a famous victory in Istanbul, responding to being patronised by José Mourinho by ending Fenerbahce’s 18-match unbeaten run.
Perhaps the scoreline was not as eye-catching as the 4-2 win away to Borussia Dortmund three years ago, but given the circumstances this was arguably more remarkable. Where there had been shambles, there was rigour. Where there had been diffidence, there was conviction. Where there had been incoherence, there was incisiveness. This was a result beyond Rangers’ realistic expectations, and yet it could have been even better. It was not just that Cyriel Dessers had two efforts ruled out for tight offsides, it was that he squandered two other counters as Fenerbahce’s structure disintegrated in the second half.
