BARRY FERGUSON has appeared to suggest Hamza Igamane still has a way to go to be a regular starter for Rangers – despite his Old Firm heroics.
The Moroccan striker came off the bench at Parkhead yesterday to thunder home a stunning late winner to sink Celtic in the fourth Glasgow derby of the season.
Hamza Igame scored the winner against Celtic yesterday[/caption]
The striker came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute of the match[/caption]
Barry Ferguson was asked about Igamane in the wake of the derby win[/caption]
And he took that opportunity to explain why the star hadn’t been starting lately[/caption]
Igamane, 22, was one of the first names on the team sheet in the last few matches of previous boss Philippe Clement‘s tenure at Ibrox but has only started twice for Ferguson.
He played 78 minutes of the interim manager’s first game against Kilmarnock but was hooked at half-time in the following game against Motherwell, in which Gers lost 2-1.
Igamane was then left out of the starting XI for both legs of the Europa League tie against Fenerbahce and was a sub at Celtic Park too, coming on for the last seven minutes.
He had the desired impact however, scoring the goal to clinch Rangers‘ first win at the home of their greatest rivals since 2020 (and the first with fans present since 2019).
The strike was also Igamane’s first goal since the middle of January, when he scored in a 3-0 win over Aberdeen.
For the first time since taking over as interim boss, Ferguson has explained the reasons behind the forward’s lack of game time.
Ferguson was asked about Igamane in his post-match interview and rather than wax lyrical about him, he made a point of highlighting why the young star hadn’t been starting.
The former Light Blues captain admitted Igamane had been feeling down at not playing but has told him what he must to do to change that.
He also suggested the language barrier is causing issues with communication.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ferguson said: “First and foremost, Hamza is a player with huge potential but he has to work so much on the other side of the game.
“He’s disappointed that he’s not been playing but he needs to start doing that other side of things.
“He’s got a massive future in the game and he showed his quality with the goal at the end.
“It was an unbelievable strike but it’s a bit difficult with the language barrier but he’s one that we’re going to work with and we’re going to try and make him better.
“He has to improve on some aspects of his game and if he does that, then he’s got a huge future.”
And later on in a separate press conference, Ferguson added: “He needs to work on certain things if he wants to be a starter.
“He’s certainly taken that on board and he’s come on and he’s given me an issue now.”
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