Was Ferguson 'turning tanker'? Who's a 'sponge'? And who's not worth £15m? - Dodds on Rangers stint

Billy Dodds was part of the Rangers legends dream team chosen to revitalise the Ibrox side after Philippe Clement was sacked in January with his side 13 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

With Barry Ferguson as head coach, and Dodds and Neil McCann as assistants, Rangers still finished 17 points adrift in second place.

They nevertheless impressed in Europe, reaching the Europa League quarter-finals, but that was not enough for Ferguson and his team to be given the job permanently by the incoming US-based consortium.

In his first interview since departing Ibrox, former Rangers striker Dodds gives an insight into the current side's weaknesses and strengths - and what lies ahead for new team boss Russell Martin.

Dodds believes Ferguson's staff "would have had to nail every result" to be given the job permanently.

He revealed that "right up to the last moment", when they drew 2-2 away to Hibernian, they were unclear about their futures.

"Barry had the interview during the week and on the Sunday or Monday morning Barry phoned to give us the news that he wasn't getting the job," Dodds revealed.

"It was disappointing, because I think we certainly brought something to Rangers on the training ground - the big tanker was slowly turning," he said.

"We went in and it was really flat, but when we left, they were thriving."

Dodds did not wish to speculate on what had caused the atmosphere to be low when they arrived.

However, he recalled that chief executive Patrick Stewart and chairman Fraser Thornton said they had "invigorated" the training ground within a couple of days.

"I was like 'what'? We've given two of the most basic training sessions, but people were speaking again," he added.

"There were things that were not quite right at the training ground. Staff at the training ground had to be better at their job."

Despite the improved atmosphere, Dodds believes the "mentality" of some Rangers players meant they were "so vulnerable" and unable to handle adversity.

"Right away, I thought there were a few weak ones," he revealed. "Good boys, good players, but some of them lacked the mindset.

"When you go to a club, you tend to find that 30% of signings are not right and 70% are, and that 70% pulls the 30 along. But at Rangers it was probably the opposite.

"Too many players you could see going into their shell. You could see there was no response either in their eyes or in their brain - they couldn't handle going behind.

"Some who were tidy players who were probably not quite the level of Rangers and never had the right mental strength to win games that were ugly.

"Some probably shouldn't have been at the club. The results proved that."

Striker Hamza Igamane has beenj linked with a £15m summer move to Lille.

Dodds, who admits the Moroccan's lack of English made coaching him difficult, thinks that "is good money" for a 22-year-old who arrived from AS FAR in his homeland in July 2024.

"He's got so much talent, but he's got to do more for the team. He has a bit to learn," he said.

"If you are buying someone for £1m or £2m and people are offering you that sort of money, you've got to sell. I would probably pay a few million, but I don't know if I would go as high as £15m."

Cyriel Dessers is another striker who has been tipped for a summer sale.

As a pundit, Dodds had been one of those who thought the striker needed to be more clinical and, as his coach, encouraged the Nigeria international to take fewer touches before striking for goal.

"The big man is brilliant, a gentleman," he said. "He is a sponge and wants to learn.

"If you look at his physique, you would think he would like holding the ball up. He hated it. He wanted to run in behind all the time.

"He will get a move probably. It will take 29 goals out the team and that's got to be replaced."

Dodds also had praise for central midfielders Nico Raskin, Mohamed Diomande and Connor Barron.

He revealed that he, McCann and Ferguson had to work hard to turn Belgian international Raskin into a highly effective box-to-box midfielder as "he wanted to sit as a six".

Dodds also did not realise how good Diomande was until he started to work with the 23-year-old.

"An absolute dog of war," he said. "Technically quite good - not brilliant, but decent - and just an all-round good player."

Meanwhile, Dodds thinks "the penny has dropped" for recent Scotland cap Barron, who he reckoned was technically good but "defensively had a bit to learn".

Dodds thinks the competition for a place in Rangers' defence "is going to be fierce" for captain James Tavernier, especially with the arrival of fellow right-back Max Aarons on loan from Bournemouth.

However, he was "amazed" at how Tavernier "was willing to learn" at the age of 33 and was surprised when the Englishman said nobody had previously sat him down and told him he had to improve defensively.

"He was so receptive - he is so versatile and we played him at centre-half in some games," Dodds pointed out.

Ferguson dropped Jack Butland after the England-capped goalkeeper suffered a loss of form and Dodds said that, while the 32-year-old was hurt, he understood.

"He has the powers of recovery - he is a top goallie," he said. "We put him back in for the last couple of games of the season and he was excellent."

However, Dodds also told Liam Kelly that he was no longer purely a back-up after performing well in Butland's place.

What now for Rangers and Martin?

Dodds says the arrival of a couple of centre-backs, and the possibility of another, was an indication of where Rangers were weak last season.

Meanwhile, the addition of midfielders suggests there could be some players leaving Ibrox, while at least one striker and a pacey wide player are the priorities.

Dodds pointed out that, when opponents sat deep, "maybe there wasn't enough creativity, especially in domestic games", so he could understand why Rangers hae signed the Joe Rothwell from Bournemouth.

He thought it was the kind of "resilience and mental strength" from British or Scottish players that he, Ferguson and McCann would have liked to introduce themselves this summer.

Dodds thinks there have been "too many changes at Rangers", from new chairmen, directors, chief executives and team managers in recent years.

"I just hope they get a bit of stability now," he said. "If they get all that, they would not be too far away.

"If Russell Martin gets this going and gets the right recruitment and they start winning games, what a place to be."