Fire and brimstone Barry Ferguson demands that Gio ditches Fancy Dan summer signings

Barry Ferguson has written off the seven summer recruits at Ibrox in his typical style.

When the going gets tough it is time to roll up the sleeves, stand shoulder to shoulder with your mates, the lads that you’d want alongside you in the trenches.

There is no room for Fancy Dan’s alongside Fergie, trusty old colleagues like Greegsy and Davo can be relied on to earn a heroic 3-0 defeat rather than a 4-0 trouncing.

Who actually signed the Magnificent Seven but with a daunting programme of 13 matches between October 1 and November 12 it is the old timers that can be relied on to avoid further humiliations.

Returning to a favoured old theme, Ferguson tells Daily Record readers:

I defy anyone who watched these last three games to tell me that what went on at Ibrox on Wednesday night was not night and day compared to the spineless displays against Celtic and Ajax.

And it tells me that Gio has learned some painful lessons in terms of his summer recruitment. By naming a starting XI without a single new signing it sent out quite a stark message.

When his back was right up against a wall he relied on the old guard – the guys he would want in the trenches beside him. And that’s very telling where the recruitment is concerned. It’s not been close to good enough.

Who should carry the can for that? Only Gio and director of football Ross Wilson know who gets the final say when it comes to identifying new players. But what Wednesday night reconfirmed is that Allan McGregor and Steve Davis are still two of the most influential, talented and important players at the club. And these guys were my team mates 13 years ago!

Ferguson has been out of football management since being mutually consented by Alloa Athletic in February.