Concerned Ally McCoist fears Barry Ferguson has been thrown into Rangers to "crisis manage" the club - just like he was during his time as manager.

After a manic 24 hours that saw Philippe Clement axed and Ferguson come through the door, the club legend is now set to get to work with Wednesday's clash with Kilmarnock just around the corner. Ferguson has been handed 15 games to lift the mood around Ibrox - and can extend his interim tenure with a victory over Fenerbahce in the Europa League Rangers’ only realistic shot at silverware this season.

However, McCoist fears the iconic Light Blues captain is up against a similar uphill battle that faced him when he stepped into the hotseat. The legendary striker took over from Walter Smith in the 2011/12 season but by February, owner Craig Whyte had put the club into administration with financial woes engulfing Rangers - leaving the club to climb the ranks of Scottish football from the Third Division under McCoist.

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Having branded the players "weak" off the back of the defeat to St Mirren, he called out the dressing room again with Ferguson set to take his first training session on Tuesday. He on the talkSPORT Breakfast Show: "The players right now, Europe aside, they look damaged.

"They look damaged, they look low on confidence, the look all over the place particularly in the last two home games. Getting them to understand what the club is all about and getting them to play might be two different things. Obviously, I am very, very hopeful but it’s a big task that they have got.

“A leopard doesn’t really change its spots. You might get a reaction over a couple of games or whatever it may be, but I look at the team and they are weak. I look at that team for men - leaders, who will grab the game by the scruff of the neck, and there is not any.

"The problem with nice teams is they are nice to play against. Right now, you play against Rangers you play one big man up front - maybe two - and play a ball right down the middle and mess them about. They have got to get rid of that. They are too nice to play against, and off the park as well I need to reserve judgement. I think the thing that Rangers fans are hoping for it some form of takeover that can finance the club, that is where I am at on it.”

And with the San Francisco 49ers backed US consortium in takeover talks behind the scenes amid a torrid season on the park, Ferguson's appointment sparked memories of a verdict issued to him by former chairman David Murray during his time in the dugout. He said: ”The old chairman David Murray hit the nail on the head with me. I speak to him and I still speak to him regular, but he said ‘the bottom line is we effectively don’t know if you can manage, but we do know that you can crisis-manage’ - and that was spot on at the time.

"That was a reasonable assessment. The one thing we don’t want to see, and I really, really mean this, is Barry Ferguson having to crisis manage. That is not a place you want to be, I can assure you of that.”