Barry Ferguson held clear-the-air talks at Rangers after Hibernian defeat

Barry Ferguson hopes clear-the-air talks at Rangers will help solve the inconsistency which has dogged their domestic season.

The former Gers captain, appointed boss until the end of the season when Phillipe Clement departed Ibrox in February, criticised his players following the 2-0 William Hill Premiership defeat by Hibernian on Saturday.

Another dismal display in a Jekyll and Hyde campaign extended the Light Blues’ record losing run at home to five games as they sit 13 points behind leaders Celtic and on course for a fruitless season on the home front.

Ahead of the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Athletic Bilbao at Ibrox on Thursday night, when the Light Blues will be without suspended pair John Souttar and Mohamed Diomande, Ferguson said: “Saturday and Sunday were really difficult.

“We got in on Monday morning and, let’s just say, we had a long, long chat. I aired my views, so did my staff and so did the players, which I was happy with.

“As I’ve said before, I think we’ve been too quiet. I would rather keep it in-house, if I’m being honest with you.

“But I just thought the time was right to go and spend a bit of time with them and go through a lot of things that I’m clear that I wasn’t happy with.

“And it’s good to get their point of view as well.

“Because we really need to get to the bottom of it because it’s been a real issue.

“We’re totally clear on what way we’re going to approach the rest of the season and not just tomorrow night.

“I want people to be opinionated. I want people to debate with each other and I found it really helpful.

“Now, hopefully, going forward, I’ll start to see a bit more consistency. Because that’s something that we’ve certainly not showed over the season.

“We’ve done it and played really well in some games. But in other games, it’s just been a totally different team.

“That’s something that hopefully we’ve got to the bottom of and we can move on.”

Ferguson had promised to make a series of changes following the defeat by Hibs.

Most of the spotlight is on goalkeeper Jack Butland whose most recent mistake came on Saturday when he failed to deal with Dylan Levitt’s long-distance strike that gave Hibs the early lead.

Ferguson, however, was coy about team selection, saying: “I’m not going to say whether I’ve had a conversation with Jack or any other player. You’ll just need to find out.

“I’m not going to sit up here and tell you this is who I’m going to play and this is the formation I’m going to play. I’d be crazy to do that.

“What I will do is I’ll make a decision based on what I think is right for us to get a positive result.

“In terms of players making mistakes and players maybe underperforming, that’s part and parcel of football.

“It’s tough at times. Look I’ve been through many stages myself and there are a few players who may not be playing at the level that they would want and that I would expect.

“But, in terms of changes, I’m not going to sit here and tell you what’s going to be happening.”