Barry Ferguson doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
So it’s no surprise that he’s not falling for it. Not having the wool pulled over his eyes.
Or tumbling into a trap that has caught out previous Rangers managers.
On Saturday night at Dens Park, after his team’s thrilling 4-3 comeback win over Dundee, it would have been easy for Ferguson to laud his side.
After all, they were two goals down with 15 minutes left and somehow managed to dig out three points.
The result was terrific. Especially for the interim manager because it keeps the feel-good factor around his appointment going.
It strengthens his case to get the job on a permanent basis. And it also shows that he’s having an influence.
You can’t help feeling that one of the reasons why Rangers conjured up three goals at the death is because they were scared of what they might encounter in the away dressing-room from their gaffer at full-time.
But in terms of the performance on Tayside? Ferguson wasn’t fooled – and neither should anyone else. Because there’s one thing you know for certain about this group of players.
The minute you start to believe in them or think they’ve turned a corner – they will invariably let you down.
As soon as you show confidence in them or feel they’ve cracked it – they’ll throw you under a bus soon enough.
That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. It’s this Rangers team’s MO.
A mentality defect. Whatever you want to call it – it’s treacherous for any Ibrox boss to put a degree of faith in them.
Ferguson should be careful with that. Because the chances are, he’ll end up with egg on his face. Just like Gio van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement before him.
So it was refreshing not to hear him wax lyrical at the weekend and instead cite Rangers’ ‘bad habits’. He was right to call it out, especially before they face a huge Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao.
What played out at Dens was kamikaze football. Granted, Ferguson has got them scoring goals again – and plenty of them.
At times latterly under Clement, they were toiling to create chances never mind hit the back of the net. So that’s a positive. But at the other end, their powder puff defending is still a real worry.
He’s got a goalkeeper in Jack Butland – who was outstanding last season – giving teams a goal in every game now.
His inability to catch a tamely-hit ball coming straight at him has cost them against Motherwell and Dundee.
Tony Docherty’s side could easily have been three-up after 25 minutes on Saturday.
And this is the other, major, issue for Rangers and Ferguson. Their start to games. These laboured, lethargic, low-tempo, no-urgency starts have been crippling them for years now, domestically.
And despite coming out the blocks fast against Celtic and Fenerbahce away – it’s a disease Ferguson hasn’t been able to rid them of yet.
It doesn’t seem to be a problem for the big, glamour games. But for the bread and butter Premiership? For too long, too many of these players look like they can’t be a***d. They play when they want to.
It’s an attitude problem. A lack of hunger that has played a huge part in their dearth of silverware. Ferguson won’t have it. But he can see it creeping in at the start of games.
Like Killie away when they had to recover from two-down, at home to Motherwell when they refused to leave their starting blocks for 90 minutes.
And at Dens it was evident again. Of course, they showed a bit of grit to come back and win. And given the amount of lows and setbacks this Rangers support has endured, no-one will grudge them an injury time winner for three points.
But don’t get too excited. Ferguson eventually wants his team to go to places like that and pick up comfortable victories.
With the gulf in class and finance, that’s what SHOULD be happening. Not end-to-end basketball games, littered with errors, where you nick it at the death.
Remember, this is a Dark Blues side who are second bottom of the table with the worst defensive record in the league by a distance.
Ferguson hailed their doggedness, which he has to.
And captain James Tavernier, the man who has led Rangers for the best part of a decade, took to Instagram afterwards.
With a picture of his goal which made it 3-2, he wrote: “Character shown Saturday evening.” But is it really? At this stage of the season, with your rivals on the verge of winning a Treble and four-in-a-row at your expense, what’s the point?
Maybe that’s harsh. But this column has regularly referred to an acceptance at Rangers recently of being second best.
That kind of stuff from the skipper does nothing to alleviate it. If this team had shown proper character, they’d still be in a title race and Clement would still be in a job.
Real character would have been pouncing on a rare Celtic slip-up at Tannadice in December and beating St Mirren and Motherwell over the festive period to put Gers in the mix for a title.
Instead, they failed to turn up in Lanarkshire or Paisley and dropped five points, effectively ruling themselves out again.
It was a similar story a year ago when Clement’s team were top of the league but let it slip. Where was this character then?
Producing the goods in dead rubbers but not when it really matters is no use to anyone at the club.
Rangers could conceivably beat Celtic three times this season – and be the better side against them in the League Cup Final – yet still finish without a trophy and miles behind in the table.
That just about sums them up. Ferguson isn’t daft. In public, he’ll back them, support them, praise them when he has to.
But trust them to win trophies? Deep down, he’ll know that’s a dangerous road to go down.