i have got nothing to prove to anybody this season

[robgersfan51 0]

Exclusive by Darrell King

BARRY FERGUSON is gearing up for his second stint in the English Premiership as he settles into life with Birmingham.

But as the former Rangers skipper gets ready to mix it with the cream of the football once more he insisted: "I've got nothing to prove to anyone."

Ferguson is currently in Austria with Alex McLeish's squad at their training camp as he finds his feet after a whirlwind £1million transfer from Ibrox last week.

McLeish feels that the 31 year-old has unfinished business' in the English top flight after his brief 18-month sojourn at Blackburn Rovers between August 2003 and January 2005.

advertisement

But Ferguson - whose competitive debut will come against Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 16 - stated: "To be honest I don't feel I have anything to prove - that's not my mindset going into this season.

"I felt I did well enough in my time at Blackburn Rovers. There was a lot said that I had flopped down there and couldn't handle it, but I don't think that's fair at all.

"I picked up a very bad injury at a time when I was playing well and winning man of the match awards regularly.

"Blackburn didn't want me to leave, I was captain and doing well at the time - it was purely the fact that I wanted to come back to Rangers that sparked the whole move, not the fact I wasn't handling life in the Premiership.

"So I'm going into this just determined to play well for my new club and enjoy being back in such a challenging environment.

"I'd say the overall quality of the Premiership has increased season on season since I left, there are some fantastic players in the division now and there is a helluva lot of money being spent on real class acts.

"So it's exciting for me. I want to hit the ground running, I feel good about what lies ahead - but there is nothing in my head saying I have to prove this or that, I am just going to play my football."

Ferguson, speaking exclusively to SportTimes from the luxury Brum base, has revealed how he's settled in quicker than he could ever have imagined.

And he has been helped along by the entire Blues group, not just the Tartan contingent who populate the Midlands club.

"Obviously I know boys like James McFadden and Garry O'Connor really well, and there is Martin Taylor who I played with at Blackburn," he added.

"Then there is the gaffer, Andy Watson and Roy Aitken - so it's been great to have so many familiar faces.

"Everyone has helped me settle much quicker than I felt it would take given that I had been at Rangers for so long and was very settled into life there."

Fergie played the second half of Brum's opener in their three-game stint as they went down 2-0 to Stuttgart.

But he joked: "We got worked very hard in training on the morning of the match - so it was hard going!

"That's the way pre-season is, but it was good to get out there and they were a good side, one I remember well having played against them for Rangers in the Champions League the season before last.

"We have some very good players in our group. The gaffer looks to have bought well, with some good solid defenders coming in and the boys are all up for the Premiership."

As he headed down south last weekend to begin the next chapter of his career in earnest, Ferguson read the comments from Gers gaffer Walter Smith about how the time was right for both parties to go their separate ways.

He has also seen the reports of how Smith hopes the Rangers fans remember him as a winning captain - and not for the whole Boozegate fiasco which overshadowed the run-in to last season and saw him pay the ultimate price when Smith stripped him of the Rangers captaincy.

"The manager was right, I have left the club with no hard feelings and we both move on," Ferguson said.

"It was the right time to part company and we all left on good terms. I saw what the manager said about me and it was nice to read that.

"Life isn't always plain sailing. Things happen, you deal with it, learn from it and move on - both myself and Rangers felt it was the time to go and there is no animosity towards anyone or anything at the club.

"Rangers, as I said over the weekend, will always mean everything to me. But I have started a new chapter of my life and right now I am just focusing on Birmingham."

good article by darrell king

[NOLUWDC 1]

Enjoyed reading that.

[Jardy 0]

i look forward to hopefully seeing him do well down there next season

[grahamteuchter 1]

We wish him all the best. A great player but it was the right time to go. Good luck to him. Hope we all remember him for the right reason.

[rabness 0]

We wish him all the best. A great player but it was the right time to go. Good luck to him. Hope we all remember him for the right reason.

All the best Barry, it will just be like you to score the winner against Man U, fingers crossed.

[AlCapone 7,678]

All the best, I do believe though that he does have something to prove even though I think he done well the last time he was down there.

[delparlane 5,727]

Best of luck to you Baz, and thanks for the memories. Hope you and the Birmingham boys have a strong season - we'll all be keeping an eye on your results and wishing you well.