Duncan Ferguson insists he chose to quit Dundee United for Rangers because he kept copping fines from legendary gaffer Jim McLean.
And he revealed one of those punishments came after he took McLean’s car for a JOYRIDE.
Speaking in the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Ferguson reflected on his £4 million switch from the Tangerines to Ibrox in 1993; acknowledging that it was too much, too soon.
“My move to Rangers was too early for me, as I wasn’t ready,” he reflected.
“There were a lot of great players at Rangers at the time, and I wanted to move from Dundee United as I had problems with the manager and was always getting fined.
“I was always skint, I had nothing. I was getting fined for daft things.
“I’d take the manager’s car when he told me to wash it, so I used to drive it into a car wash and next thing you know, there are four or five of us in the car driving around Dundee. The police would stop us, it was nuts.”
Walter Smith: A great man
Big Dunc’s move to Rangers would prove ill-fated, infamously serving a three-month prison sentence after being found guilty of an on-field assault of Raith Rovers’ John McStay in 1994 while playing for the Light Blues.
He went on to enjoy two spells with Everton, becoming a cult hero for the Merseyside club, either side of a stint with Newcastle United and was capped seven times by Scotland.
However, Ferguson reckons he wouldn’t have even made the grade at United without the keen eye and nurturing influence of ex-Terrors assistant manager Walter Smith, who subsequently signed him for the Gers.
“I was small and skinny, back in the day,” he continued. “Nobody fancied me as a player that was going to kick on – I was slow and thin.
“It wasn’t until I got to 17, 18, 19, that I started to fill out. The testosterone started to kick in! I was a late developer but then I kicked on a wee bit, and got a bit of pace and my man strength.
“There was a great man – Walter Smith – and he pushed me. He was at Dundee United as an assistant at the time. He spotted that and said, “who’s that big skinny kid on the left?” It was me.
“Walter only took 15 minutes to spot me and that’s when I went up to Dundee United. Walter then became the Rangers manager, and that’s when he took me [to Rangers].”
He added: “I did well at Dundee United when I was a kid. I peaked too early – I was in my prime about 18 or 19!”
Conversation