Barry Ferguson reckons Rangers made a mistake sacking former teammate Giovanni van Bronckhorst so quickly.

The treble-winning former captain played with the Dutchman during a trophy-laden period in the late 1990s and while he admits that he's got a soft spot for his old pal, he reckons the rinse-and-repeat sacking of managers at Ibrox has to stop.

Current boss Phillippe Clement is under intense pressure ahead of Sunday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final.

Asked if the sacking of van Bronckhorst, a man who had reached a European final only months earlier,  was the start of the rot, Ferguson admitted he thought the call to dismiss the former Netherlands captain was unfair.

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He said on Go Radio: "If you look at it, there was a couple of tough results. I thought it was harsh. I did say at the time. I think Gio is a good manager, there is no doubt, he showed that previously at Feyenoord and he's gone over to Besiktas and is doing pretty decent.

"I did think at the time it was a bit harsh on Gio. I am not just saying that because I know him and he was a former team-mate. But listen, you can't just keep changing managers. A manger might come in and think 'I don't fancy 10, 12 or 14 of these players' then what do you do? Do you have to go and do another full rebuild?"