Rangers stuck in holding pen as Barry Ferguson's Ibrox swansong ends in victory over Dundee United

Appointed as interim head coach in February, the Ibrox icon’s blueprint was simple. Restore pride into a disenchanted fanbase and inject confidence into squad that had underperformed for so long, their hopes of a title challenge were extinguished before they’d even had the chance to belt out Auld Lang Syne.

The truth is that, domestically at least, that’s all Rangers had left to play for when the appointment of their popular former captain was made. In a campaign that started with their home games being played at Hampden Park, it’s been as unrecognisable a season as many fans can remember, and it’s clearly pained Ferguson, a man who has the club coursing through his veins.

The club stuck in a holding pen off the pitch, he and his players await news on their own futures, with the impending takeover from the Andrew Cavenagh-led consortium involving 49ers Enterprises reported to be edging closer to completion.

The subdued Ibrox atmosphere apparent, a faint grumble was heard when United’s Samuel Cleall-Harding opened the scoring by heading home from a corner on 20 minutes, though top scorer Cyriel Dessers would soon restore parity with the 49th goal of his Rangers career just six minutes later.

The Nigerian had a great chance to reach the half century on 57 minutes, but would blaze a neat through ball from Nicolas Raskin over the bar. The milestone arrived less than 20 minutes later though, when a VAR check ruled Will Ferry had felled Mohamed Diomande in the area, and Dessers stepped up to make no mistake from 12 yards out. Neat play between Vaclav Cerny and Raskin then saw the Belgian blast home a clinching third with 15 minutes to play.

Expected to be Ferguson’s swansong as Rangers boss, this victory at least allowed the 47-year-old to leave with a sense of pride intact. Held in such high esteem by the Govan faithful, he was never likely to leave with anything but applause and a thank you from a fanbase who hold a lifelong respect for a man who put 15 pieces of silverware in the Ibrox trophy cabinet during his time in royal blue. Seven points from the last three home games is a solid enough return after the winless run that preceded it.

The Europa League penalty shootout win over Fenerbahce and the late 3-2 victory over Celtic gave brief moments of glee during the Ferguson era, however, inconsistent performances and a 76-day wait for an Ibrox victory is what will see his - and some of the squad’s - time at Ibrox ended this summer as the club embark on a new adventure.

The result largely irrelevant, thoughts of next season are already wafting through a restrained Ibrox crowd. For Dundee United, the result leaves them sweating over a top five finish going into the final day, with St Mirren just one point behind them, and with a better goal difference. However, for Ferguson and a number of his Rangers squad, the question of ‘what comes next’ will continue to play on their mind in the days and weeks to come.