Barry Ferguson Doesn't Want To Miss Out Like Giggs

BARRY FERGUSON is determined not to miss out on a major finals like Ryan Giggs and George Best.

FOOTBALL has been kind to Barry Ferguson. His skills have won him championships, earned him the captaincy of the club and country he loves and provided him and his family with financial security for life at the age of 29.

Not bad for a wee boy from Hamilton and Ferguson is not the type to take any of it for granted.

But there is a part of this fiercely competitive man that is not entirely satisfied with his lot.

Ferguson wants to strut his considerable talents on the world's greatest stages and while he is making part of that ambition come true in Rangers' weird and wonderful Champions League journey this year the midfielder wants to shine on the international stage.

He has earned 40 caps to date but all have come in qualifying matches or friendlies. None have been earned in Championship finals for the simple reason that Ferguson didn't make his international debut until three months after the last time Scotland made it on to the big stage at France 98.

That is the part of Ferguson's CV he wants to re-write. He admires the work of the likes of Ryan Giggs and George Best but doesn't want to share with them the distinction of being successful at club level and being recognised as players of great ability, only to be denied the opportunity to do it with the world watching.

Which is why there will be nobody more motivated than Ferguson when he snaps that captain's armband over his left bicep on Saturday afternoon.

The skipper will lead from the front against Ukraine, driven by the fear of coming so close to leading his nation to the most ridiculous qualifying success of all time, only to blow it in the closing stages of the campaign.

Ferguson is haunted by the knowledge it could still happen, despite the heroics against France that have catipulated his side to the brink of qualification for next summer's European Championship festival in Austria and Switzerland.

But he believes seven points from their last three games are still required and doesn't try to hide the size of that particular task

With this Scotland team, however, impossible is nothing.

Just ask the French, who can whinge and whine all they like about our style but can't count any points. Not when we took all six of them.

Ferguson, despite being a realist, is convinced his dream will remain alive after Saturday.

He said: "I would dearly love to lead my country into a major finals. It's the only thing that is missing from my cv.

"I've won a lot of trophies and awards in my career at Rangers but the only thing I've not done is lead my country into the finals of a major championship.

"People always say it's a shame someone as talented as Ryan Giggs or George Best before him never played in a World Cup or European Championship and I don't want my name to be added to that list. It's something I am desperate to do.

"It is all there to play for but I'm not getting over-confident. We have had some fantastic results but we are a long way from qualifying.

"There are three games to go and we probably need seven points to be sure of getting to next year's finals.

"That is a big ask but things are definitely going in the right direction and there is a confidence among the squad that can only be good for us."

Scotland is basking in a feelgood factor Ferguson has helped create with his performances for his country and club, where their 3-0 Champions League victory in Lyon reverberated around the footballing world.

The Rangers captain believes that result, allied to those achieved by Celtic and Aberdeen, are living proof the game is alive and kicking in Scotland.

He added: "Scottish football is a good place to be at the moment. All our clubs are doing well in Europe and the national squad is up to 14th in the world rankings after a couple of great wins over France and Lithuania.

"The whole nation is on a high, there is a definite feelgood factor and this is as good as it has been for along, long time."

According to Ferguson one of the reasons for Scotland's revival has been the decision to revert to having Scottish managers in charge of the national side in the wake of the Berti Vogts era.

Fergie admitted the former German national coach struggled to make himself understood due to his poor command of the English language and claims it is no coincidence Scotland are now climbing up the world rankings.

And he is convinced Scotland needed a home-grown manager in the mould of Walter Smith and Alex McLeish to haul the national team out of what was a very deep rut.

Ferguson said: "I think a passionate country like Scotland should always have a Scot in charge.

"That is no disrespect to Berti but obviously it was difficult for him because of the language barrier. You saw the difference right away when Walter came in and obviously Alex has followed that on.

"Another reason behind Scotland's revival is that the money is not here compared to four or five years ago when you could go and buy players for £7million or £8m.

"Obviously finances dictate now and we can't do that, which has forced clubs to develop their own players or go out and buy good Scottish players.

"We've seen that at Rangers with players such as Steven Naismith, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker all coming in.

"It is good for Scottish football that there are more Scottish players at both Old Firm clubs. Going back to my first spell at Rangers, there were a lot of foreigners and I was the only Scottish guy in the team and Paul Lambert was in the same position at Celtic.

"Now there are maybe eight or nine Scots guys in the starting 11 and that's obviously good for the national side as well."

Ferguson is fired up for this all right. His life might not depend on victory over Ukraine but a sizeable chunk of his career does and that makes our captain a very motivated individual.

'I'd dearly love to lead my country to a major finals. It's the only thing missing from my cv.'