Ferguson has struck gold on Rangers star who nearly left in January

Glasgow Rangers interim head coach Barry Ferguson will currently be enjoying the last international break of the season after a terrific couple of weeks for his team.

The Scottish manager oversaw a win over Jose Mourinho in the Europa League on penalties, after his team held Fenerbahce to a 3-3 draw, before beating Celtic 3-2 at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Ferguson opted to go with a 3-4-2-1 formation for those three matches and appears to have struck gold with this new tactical set-up for the Gers.

How Rangers have benefitted from Ferguson’s tactical tweak

One player who significantly benefitted from the change in shape for the Celtic match was versatile defender Dujon Sterling, who thrived at centre-back.

The former Chelsea defender has played in almost every position for the Light Blues, at centre-back in a four, at right-back, left-back, defensive midfield, right midfield, left midfield, right wing, and central midfield.

However, he seemed at home in the right-sided centre-back position as part of a three, which allowed him to combine his experience as a centre-back, a defensive midfielder, and a right-back all into one role.

As you can see in the table above, Sterling put in a defensively dominant performance, whilst rarely giving the ball away in possession, in that new position.

The English ace has not been the only Rangers player to thrive as a result of his change in formation, however, as Ferguson has also hit the jackpot with Ridvan Yilmaz.

Rangers have hit gold with Ridvan Yilmaz

In the January transfer window, it was reported that Besiktas were interested in bringing the Turkish defender back to the club on loan with an option to buy for £2.5m, but their offer was rejected by the Gers.

It was also claimed that the two clubs were continuing to negotiate at the time. However, nothing ever came of it and the Turkey international remained at Ibrox.

Yilmaz has only started 26 Premiership matches since the start of last season as Jefte has been preferred ahead of him in the league this term, starting 25 times.

That may be down to the difference in physicality between the two players. The Brazilian defender has won 54% of his aerial battles in the league, winning two per game on average, whilst Yilmaz has not won a single aerial battle in his 16 league appearances.

Ferguson’s switch to a back three with wing-backs, however, provided the Turkish defender with the chance to play higher up the pitch where he does not need to get involved in aerial contests – not contesting a single one against Celtic.

The 23-year-old star was, instead, able to push forward to press the Celtic players in their own half, making three tackles and one interception without being dribbled past.

Yilmaz, WHO Philippe Clement claimed made a “really big evolution” at Ibrox, has created four ‘big chances’ in ten league starts this season and this change in position could provide him with more opportunities to put crosses into the box on the left flank to create for his teammates.

Therefore, Ferguson may have hit the jackpot on Yilmaz by switching the formation up as playing as a left wing-back appears to be the perfect role for the Turkish star, by making the most of his attacking capabilities and hiding his aerial weakness.