Barry Ferguson is determined to play his part both on and off the field for Clyde next season.
The former Rangers and Scotland midfielder was appointed player-manager of the SPFL League 2 club earlier this month, having served as the interim player-manager of Blackpool during the latter part of last season.
He was able to stave off relegation narrowly, with Ferguson reneging on an initial decision not to play while he was manager when the Scot named himself in the starting XI for matches against Leeds United and Burnley. Now 36, he remains eager to prolong his playing career at Broadwood.
"When I met Clyde they wanted me to be manager, but one of the questions was, would I play?" said Ferguson. "I'm fit enough to play so I'll do pre-season and see how it goes. As it stands I'll play.
"I could have played another season or two at a higher level but this opportunity came about and I felt it was right. I got offers to play in the Championship in England, in League One in England and also from abroad, but after speaking to Clyde, I knew this was for me."
The Clyde job comprises Ferguson's first permanent managerial role. He succeeds Jim Duffy - who led the team into the promotion play-offs last season before leaving to take over at Morton - and his new club have been installed already as one of the favourites to gain promotion to League 1.
Having worked under such as Walter Smith, Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish while at Rangers, Ferguson is confident in his ability to negotiate the demands of being a manager. Indeed, he laid out some of his initial plans yesterday. "When I was younger Clyde were always up a few divisions and they've been languishing in the bottom tier too long," he said.
"The board have the ambition to go through the divisions and I'm happy to take on the job of trying to get us promoted. We've got to be positive and try to get promoted.
"We only train on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I know some of the boys work, but I'm going to try to get them in for another night a week."
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