Ian Ferguson (born 15 March 1967) is a Scottish football coach and retired professional player. He started his career with

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, then moved to St Mirren in 1986, scoring the winning goal as the club won the 1987 Scottish Cup Final. Ferguson moved to Rangers in 1988 and stayed with the Ibrox club for 12 years, during which time he helped them win nine consecutive Scottish league championships. He has since been inducted to the club's Hall of Fame. He played for

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

for two seasons, before emigrating to Australia where he played for Northern Spirit and

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...

. Ferguson appeared in nine full international matches for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Since retiring as a player, he has managed

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from ...

, Perth Glory, Northern Fury and Stirling Macedonia.

Club career

St Mirren

Raised in the

Parkhead Parkhead ( sco, Pairkheid) is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necrop ...

area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

within a few blocks of

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

, although he grew up as a supporter of Rangers, Ferguson started his career with

(he had an unsuccessful trial with

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1983),Ian Ferguson
AFC Heritage Trust but was transferred to St Mirren for £60,000 in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. Aged 20, he scored the winning goal in the 1987 Scottish Cup Final, as St Mirren won 1–0 against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

Rangers

Nine months after winning the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Ibrox by

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

.Rangers legend Ian Ferguson lifts lid on how he forced move from St Mirren as they tried to sell him to Manchester United
Lindsay Herron, Daily Record, 15 February 2018 He is remembered as a key player of the era at the club, appearing 336 times and scoring 42 goals. Along with

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...

and

Richard Gough Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...

, he played a part in every season of Rangers' historic run of nine titles in a row between 1988–89 and 1996–97 under managers Souness and

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

. Having picked up his first winner's medal a decade earlier, scoring in the 1988 Scottish League Cup Final, he also featured in the first title win with manager

Dick Advocaat Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stint ...

in 1998–99, and appeared as a substitute in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

in 2000. He was given a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

by Rangers, played against Sunderland on 21 July 1999.

Dunfermline Athletic

Ferguson spent two seasons in Fife, during which he helped newly promoted Dunfermline to keep their place in the top division ( 9th in 2000–01) and then improve it ( 6th in 2001–02). He then moved to Australia to see out the final years as a player and begin his managerial career.

International career

Ferguson won nine international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

, achieved at irregular intervals over a period of nine years. His last appearance was in a goalless draw against

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

in February 1997. After the game, Ferguson was overheard by a microphone apparently swearing at the Scotland supporters. Ferguson apologised to the Scotland manager, Craig Brown, and he was included in the next squad.

Managerial career

North Queensland Fury FC

On 15 September 2008, Ferguson was confirmed as the new manager of North Queensland FC leaving his post as assistant manager at

. He took up the post straight away in order to give the team the best preparation possible for their inaugural season in Australia's Hyundai A League. Ferguson lasted only one year with the Fury, when the club folded due to financial instability.

Perth Glory FC

In 2010 Ferguson moved to become the assistant to David Mitchell at the Perth Glory at the end of the 2009–10 season and becoming the coach on 12 October 2010 after David Mitchell resigned. On 27 March 2012 he signed a two-year contract extension with the club. Ferguson successfully guided Perth Glory to their first A-League Grand Final in April 2012, after beating Minor A-League Premiers Central Coast Mariners in a penalty shootout at the Mariners' home ground in

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extr ...

. However they lost the subsequent Grand Final 2–1 following a late comeback from

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

who were awarded a controversial injury-time penalty. Ferguson's contract was mutually terminated on 11 February 2013 as Perth Glory manager, after five straight losses and six hours of game time without a goal scored.

Northern Fury FC (NPL Queensland)

In 2013, Ferguson was announced as the Director of Football and Coaching at the Townsville NPL Queensland franchise

Northern Fury FC Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from ...

. On 16 February 2017, Ferguson resigned as Northern Fury manager, less than a fortnight from the beginning of the Fury's season. He was replaced by Paul Roncato.

Stirling Macedonia FC (WA State League)

On 3 November 2020, Stirling Macedonia FC announced Ian Ferguson as the new First team coach.

Career statistics

International appearances

Managerial record

Honours

Player

St Mirren *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1986–87 Rangers *

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

(10): 1988–89, 1989–90,

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1991–92,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1995–96, 1998–99; runner-up 1988–89, 1993–94, 1997–98 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 1988–89,

, 1993–94, 1998–99

Manager

Perth Glory * A-League: runner-up 2011–12

References

External links

Central Coast Mariners profile

Rangers ''Hall of Fame'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Ian 1967 births Living people Scottish footballers Scottish football managers Scotland international footballers Scotland B international footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate football managers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate soccer players in Australia Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players Footballers from Glasgow A-League Men players National Soccer League (Australia) players Central Coast Mariners FC players Clyde F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Northern Spirit FC players Rangers F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Expatriate soccer managers in Australia A-League Men managers Scotland under-21 international footballers Perth Glory FC managers Association football midfielders