When Barry Ferguson was asked about Nico Raskin’s call-up for Belgium he couldn’t resist a typical Glaswegian wisecrack.
“I’ve told Nico, that’s the difference I’ve made to him in two and a half weeks.”
It was tongue in cheek, of course. But there was also a serious side to what the Rangers interim boss was saying too.
Because there’s no doubt Ferguson HAS impacted Raskin’s recent displays at Ibrox. Neil McCann and Billy Dodds will have had a role to play in that as well.
But as a former top-class midfielder himself, the manager will have deliberately tried to influence the 24-year-old since taking over. And you have to say – even though it’s still early days – that whatever Ferguson has done with Raskin, it’s worked so far.
On Wednesday night, the Rangers man was part of a three-man Belgium midfield that included Manchester City superstar Kevin de Bruyne and Club Brugge captain Hans Vanaken.
With two-goal Romelu Lukaku up front, flanked by City and Arsenal wide men, Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard – the Red Devils overturned a two-goal Nations League defeat to see off Ukraine 3-0.
Raskin was eventually taken off after 89 minutes of his first start and was given a standing ovation from the crowd. The biggest compliment you can pay him is that he didn’t look out of place in that kind of company.
And you have to ask yourself, would that have been possible if Ferguson hadn’t been given the caretaker role at Ibrox? Incredibly, it appears doubtful.
When Clement arrived as gaffer to replace Michael Beale, you felt it would be the perfect appointment for Raskin – and one that could take his game to another level. Instead, his career went backwards.
Injuries didn’t help but even last season, Clement used his countryman sparingly. When he did play, his performances were one-dimensional.
Was he a sitting midfielder, adept at breaking up opposition attacks? Or was he a box-to-box player, capable of hurting teams going the other way?
Under Clement, he was neither. But with Ferguson guiding him? It seems he can be BOTH. That was evident during the recent victories over Fenerbahce and Celtic.
But especially in the 3-2 Old Firm derby win at Parkhead where Raskin was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. He proved that day he can hound and harass opponents to the point of submission.
With Rangers deploying a five-man defence, the little Belgian had to fill in, help his full-backs and cover every blade of grass.
But we already knew he could do that. The key to Raskin’s display was his ability to affect the result going forward, something we’ve yet to see from him in Glasgow.
The timing of his run and spring to out-jump Jeffrey Schlupp and put Rangers in front with a terrific header was eye-catching.
So too was a darting run off fellow Belgian, Arne Engels, and his awareness to tee up Mo Diomande behind him in the box to make it 2-0. Now, it’s only one game. But if Raskin can add THAT to his armoury?
Rangers will have a serious midfielder on their hands, potentially worth a lot of money. But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that Ferguson has made a tangible difference.
He was also pigeon-holed as a defensive anchor early in his career, who wasn’t renowned for offering too much going forward. Between 1999 and 2002, he scored five, four and six goals per season.
The kind of numbers you’d maybe expect for a holding player. But in 2002/03, he and his gaffer Alex McLeish decided Ferguson had extra to give in Rangers’ engine room.
The introduction of Mikel Arteta beside him freed up the captain to make forward runs and get in the box. The difference? He bagged 18 goals that term, which effectively earned him a move to Premier League outfit Blackburn.
He proved he was capable of more. Judging by that Parkhead performance, so is Raskin. Potentially, Ferguson could do for Raskin what McLeish did for him.
At Celtic Park, he wasn’t just passing sideways or backwards. He was purposeful on the ball – and dynamic off it, highlighted in Rangers’ second goal. Don’t forget his sublime killer pass for Vaclav Cerny in Istanbul to put them 3-1 up – that was out of the top drawer.
Raskin has two years left on his current contract at Ibrox but with new American owners coming in, they might already be looking at trying to extend that.
It’s either that, or they look to cash in now. After all, at 24, and with the club hell-bent on creating a successful player-trading model – could Raskin be the poster boy for it?
Only time will tell. Certainly, international recognition will only increase his value. Across the city at Celtic, there was much hype and excitement about the £11 million acquisition of Engels from Augsburg in the summer – and what he might be worth in the future.
But after outshining him in the Old Firm and taking the No.6 shirt ahead of Engels for Belgium – it might just be Raskin who ends up going for silly money in a few years’ time.