No time for speedos and flip flops- Barry Ferguson calls out golden boys Cantwell and Tillman

Barry Ferguson has called on Todd Cantwell and Malik Tillman to finally deliver on the big stage.

Tillman has gone into hiding in four matches against Celtic this season while Tik Tok Todd has been cultivating his image as a celebrity C-Lister since swapping the bright lights of Norfolk for Ibrox in January.

Last Sunday neither player was able to make any meaningful impression on Aberdeen, at Hampden on Sunday they’re expected to deliver the telling performances that will end Celtic’s hopes of winning a treble.

Ferguson likes everyone to know what a True Blue warrior he is, someone that spends 24/7 working out ways of stopping Celtic.

While most pundits have been drooling over the impact of Cantwell and Tillman, Ferguson has unusually applied some logic to his column in the Daily Record:

Let’s be honest, the players Beale has placed his trust in have been way short of that over the last few weeks. So it’s up to the manager to take a good look at them and decide who he can really hang his hat on.

If Sakala plays through the middle then, who does he trust to play on the right? Who can he rely on to play behind him? Who wants it the most?

What Rangers need are players who are determined to stand up and make a difference in the final third because that’s exactly what was missing in the last game at Celtic Park.

Everything up to that point, in terms of the way they approached the game, was pretty much spot on. But when it came to the crunch, too many key players were posted missing at the business end of the pitch.

That can’t happen at Hampden because this is the biggest game of the season by a country mile. I’m not interested in what happens in the post split matches – the league is over – so showing up and looking the part when the pressure is off is no use to anyone.

This is not the time to be looking out the speedos and the flip-flops. This is when you prove you know what being a Rangers player is all about. I’m looking at the likes of Todd Cantwell and Malik Tillman and asking them how deep they are prepared to dig?

These two guys have all the ability in the world but that counts for nothing if they don’t have the mentality to go with it. Let’s be honest, they have both been guilty of fading out of games when things aren’t going their way.

I’ve played with people like that and what they need is players around them who protect them and get the best out of them by doing the hard yards. I worry that Rangers look a bit soft when Ryan Jack isn’t doing that enforcer job in the midfield.

But the more creative influences like Cantwell and Tillman also have a responsibility to step up and grab the bull by the horns. I don’t want them turning it on when things are going well. I need them to make a difference when the game is on a knife edge.

Sometimes, it’s about rolling your sleeves up and getting wired in and, worryingly, I didn’t see too much of that last weekend at Pittodrie when the game was getting away from them.

They might have felt that three points against Aberdeen didn’t really matter all that much as the title had already gone and even though Celtic slipped up at home to Motherwell, they were never going to claw them back anyway. But that attitude sums up the whole season to this point.

I have no doubt Beale has got some quality players in his squad. But sometimes talent is not enough. Sometimes finding a way to win is the be all and end all. The manager will find out on Sunday who has the character required to go the distance with him as he plans for the journey ahead.

Ferguson wants Alfredo Morelos replaced by the searing pace of Fashion Sakala.