THE taxman may well deliver a devastating blow to Rangers in the near future.

In a court-room, a judge could also make a call that may cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. But what neither can do is pull on a pair of boots and line-up against Ally McCoist’s players in the first Old Firm game of the season tomorrow. And that, says a man who’s been through the turmoil that has engulfed Ibrox for almost three years now, is how the Rangers players will prepare their minds as they set themselves for yet another Glasgow derby.

Barry Ferguson, the former Rangers captain, was in the middle of things as the winter of 2008 approached and the club’s financial perils began to move from the boardroom into the public domain. Since then, countless negative stories have been the constant backdrop. The emergence of an HMRC investigation, fears for the very future of the club as Lloyds Bank took control, a take-over saga and former chief executive Martin Bain’s unfair dismissal claim.

But Ferguson is adamant that recent events will not have any bearing come high noon at Ibrox. “Players are very good at shutting things like that out and just focusing on the game,” the Blackpool midfielder said. “What has gone on in the past few weeks won’t make any difference at all to the preparation for the Celtic match, or the players attitude going into it. Let’s be honest, there has been stuff swirling around the club for so long now that I think the players are used to it. I am not denying that it wouldn’t be mentioned, but it’s nothing the players can control. They have no bearing on the off-field situation at Rangers – but they can affect what happens on it.”

Of course, the man who did so much to steer the ship through steady waters and shield his players has gone. Walter Smith guided the club to eight trophies out of 12 in the past four seasons as uncertainty and in-fighting raged, before passing the baton to his assistant. Ferguson concedes that McCoist may not have the nous and knowledge Smith gleaned over so many years but, given his 15 years as a Rangers player and icon, and his time back at the club, the man who was a constant thorn in Celtic’s side during his career isn’t exactly short of experience of what he’s walking into tomorrow.

“Ally will want the win big-time, he knows the score and he knows how much it means to the supporters,” Ferguson said. “You could see when Neil Lennon took over as Celtic manager that he wanted to win the Old Firm game badly, and it’s the same now for Ally. They are both aware of the rules, you have to win these games.

“You will not find a bigger Rangers man than Ally. I have known him for a long time and the club means a lot to him. He will be desperate to win his first derby as manager, and I have no doubt that will be transmitted to the players before the game.

“It’s been a difficult start for him, but it was always going to be given the boots he has to fill. But a win would be a huge thing for Ally.”