Softly Softly

[ian1964 10,415]

By Andrew Dickson

 

BARRY FERGUSON could start against Inverness tomorrow - but Walter Smith has warned he won't necessarily stay in his Rangers side.

 

The skipper is poised to return to the first team after four months on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

 

But while he might lead the side against the Highlanders, Gers are keen not to push him too much as they tackle a heavy schedule of matches.

 

As well as Caley Thistle, the Light Blues will play Dundee United, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and St Mirren in the next fortnight.

 

Smith knows that having been without his captain for so long, asking him to be able to play in each fixture over that period could be expecting too much.

 

He said: "We're certainly thinking about starting Barry tomorrow. He played in the reserve game on Wednesday so we'll look at that between now and tomorrow morning.

 

"He is ready to come back but we have five games in the next couple of weeks so there are plenty of opportunities to get him involved.

 

"Barry is a really good footballer and the more of them that we have in our team, the better.

 

"At the same time, when someone is coming back from injury after a long time, asking them to play on Saturday, Tuesday then Saturday is not a good thing.

 

"Barry needs to get back to match fitness and it is a matter of how we best go about doing that.

 

"With five matches in a fortnight, after the spell he has had out, he'll not be able to play in them all.

 

"But we would hope to get him the number of games in that period that get him back to full fitness."

 

Brahim Hemdani and Steven Naismith are the only injured players at the club now and Christian Dailly is suspended this weekend.

 

Young full-back Steven Smith won't be risked either as he lacks match sharpness after the best part of two years out.

 

While it seems he will be sent out on loan in January, there are other players waiting in the wings to come back into the team.

 

Amongst them are Lee McCulloch, Steven Whittaker and Chris Burke and Smith says they will all get opportunities at some point.

 

He added: "Some of our players are needing more matches to get up to the proper level of fitness.

 

"Just like Barry, there are plenty of chances for the likes of Whittaker and McCulloch to come in again."