Ferguson vows to do his best

Barry Ferguson has vowed to repay new manager Alex McLeish for giving him another crack at the Barclays Premier League and the opportunity to resurrect his career.

The former Rangers skipper joined Birmingham on Friday in a deal believed to be worth in the region of £1.2million, reuniting him with his former Ibrox and Scotland boss.

Ferguson, 31, who spent 18 months at Blackburn, told the Evening Times: "It's a great challenge for me to be going back to the Premiership. I am going to work again with a manager who has been my gaffer at club and country level and I have a lot of respect for him. He has put a lot of faith in me again, and I want to repay that by doing well for him at Birmingham."

Ferguson's future at Rangers was thrown into doubt following the infamous Loch Lomond drinking session and subsequent V-signs incident while on international duty, which saw him fined and banned by the club.

Despite initially being told he would never play for the Ibrox club again, the midfielder did play a part in last season's run-in as Rangers claimed a domestic double.

He added: "It's a bit of a sad day for me really. I have to say that it's all a bit surreal. But that's life.

"I have left Rangers with no hard feelings. It's the best thing for both the club and myself that we go our separate ways.

"I've been at Rangers since I was a kid and, bar a year-and-a-half at Blackburn, it's been my entire life.

"The club will always be in my heart, the people who know me know exactly what Rangers always meant."