Barry Ferguson has defended senior duo Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace after the pair were suspended by Rangers for an incident following Sunday’s 4-0 defeat to Celtic.
As announced on the club’s official website, both players have been suspended pending an investigation, with the club refusing to make any more comments on the situation until the investigation is complete.
Miller and Wallace were said to have had an angry exchange with manager Graeme Murty in the dressing room following the match, as reported by the BBC.
However in his latest column Daily Record, Ferguson opted to question whether the players’ actions were really that bad.
“I’ll hold back on deciding for sure until more of the facts from Sunday’s Old Firm derby are known,” wrote the former Gers midfielder.
“It could be they both went way over the score in criticising their manager, if so they will have to deal with the consequences.
“If they have annihilated Graeme Murty then they deserve to be disciplined and made an example of, but I’d be astonished if that was the case.”
Ferguson continued defending Miller and Wallace by saying everyone should wait until the truth comes out about what really happened, before making a judgement.
The former Gers midfielder then suggested that it would have been more worrying if there weren’t raised voices in the dressing room after the game, and that the club should be ashamed if that is all that happened.
“If tempers weren’t flared then Rangers are in even bigger trouble than that 4-0 defeat suggests,” stated Ferguson.
“And if Lee and Kenny felt the need to point out that the performance was not acceptable then they were simply looking out for the best interests of the club.
“If it turns out they have been punished and placed in a living hell for doing no more than that then people inside my old club should be ashamed.”
Wallace has made only five league appearances this season, whereas Miller has featured 18 times in the league during this campaign, and contributed three goals in his outings.
OPINION
Ferguson is certainly right to argue that no one should make a judgement until everyone’s side of the story is heard, but then he goes and makes an assessment of the issue. The former Gers player clearly believes that Miller and Wallace are getting hung out to dry, with the media coverage of this story. It’s hard to disagree with the fact that the players’ suspensions have distracted everyone from reacting to the Gers’ heavy defeat to the Hoops, as more fans are talking about Wallace and Miller instead. Ferguson also suggested that the pair would not get another chance at Ibrox, and that’s clearly going to be a case. It’s a shame not just for the players but for the supporters, as both have provided fans were their fair share of memorable moments over the years.