Barry looks like he was born to be the Rangers manager.. can the Americans afford NOT to give him the job?

Caretaker boss' case to stay on is getting stronger

- KEITH JACKSON

IT goes without saying that the incoming Americans will have their own ideas.

But Barry Ferguson might just be throwing a major spanner in the works now that they're almost in through the front door.

He arrived as a caretaker at a moment of crisis and absolute chaos. But after three weeks in the post already he looks every inch like a man who was born to be a Rangers manager.

So when the team of lawyers acting for Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe finally dot all the i's and cross all the t's on the deal to take over the club, the new owners will face a massive question over what to do with this force of nature who has ended up calling the shots from the dugout.

To knock Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce out of the Europa League was one thing.

But to follow that up by leading his team of perennial underachievers across the city to win at Celtic Park? That just might have tipped Ferguson over the top in terms of his credentials to take this job on for the long haul.

Come to think of it, if Cavenagh and his star-spangled regime were of a mind to bring in their own man, then they may find themselves having to hurriedly reconsider.

Asking Ferguson to step aside now that he has reconnected the club with its supporters and lit a fire under his side would seem a strange way to go about winning over the hearts and minds of the locals.

They were chanting his name again yesterday afternoon as Ferguson led his players towards the 2500 away fans inside Celtic Park a support which, for the main part, had turned up in hope rather than in expectation.

But they too might be starting to realise that Ferguson is a great deal more than just a stop gap or the right man in the right place to mind the till on an interim basis. He just might be the right man period.