That definition also describes exactly how Barry Ferguson is going about this job as Rangers manager.
And it perfectly sums up how his team left Celtic Park with a much-deserved victory over their Old Firm rivals. Ferguson isn't a defensive-minded coach. Nor is he one with a specific attacking philosophy.
He’s a pragmatist. Just like his mentor, Walter Smith. Just like his former team-mate, who has regularly been touted for the role, Derek McInnes.
And it just so happens that right now at Ibrox that's exactly what this group of players need.
Ferguson’s win wasn't one for the purists or football hipsters.
Not once in his pre or post match interviews did he talk about xG, low blocks or shots on target.
He just got the job done with what he had at his disposal. And ultimately, that’s what Philippe Clement, couldn't do. Far too often, he tried to complicate matters. By the end, the Belgian was driving punters crazy with some of his comments.
Whether it was sports science - or daring to have a pop at serial winner Jose Mourinho’s tactics just days after his team lost to Queen's Park - Clement was in danger of losing the plot.
Ferguson has simplified things at Ibrox, on and off the pitch. It’s no coincidence, for example, that almost immediately after taking on the role as interim gaffer, every player bar Oscar Cortes has declared themselves fully fit.
When was that the case under Clement? After 120 minutes of graft against Fenerbahce, he’d have turned up on the other side of the city talking about ‘managing minutes’.
But before an Old Firm derby that phrase would never leave Ferguson's mouth.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742347059/articles/xvoTfuILunhaJpTaWlsys/2623634162.jpg]
There's no way Clement would have started Leon Balogun or Dujon Sterling after their exertions in Europe.
It’s believed the club's sports scientists told Ferguson the pair - along with Vaclav Cerny and Mo Diomande - were in the red zone and in danger of burnout. But the manager's only concern was getting his best team out on the park - and getting a result.
That's exactly what happened on Sunday. Pragmatism.
For Ferguson to have that kind of buy-in so early in his stint with players who know there's a chance he won't be in charge come the summer is a feat he and his staff deserve huge credit for.
Irrespective of what was at stake league-wise, the 3-2 win over Celtic was probably even more important for the club's former skipper.
To describe his set-up as basic or rudimentary would be disrespectful. Not for the first time, Ferguson got his tactics spot on and he tweaked it in-game, another thing that Clement was so reluctant to do.
But above everything else, it was pragmatic. He devised a plan with what he had and went with it. The crucial thing is, though, that he’s getting these players to work.
This ...
And it perfectly sums up how his team left Celtic Park with a much-deserved victory over their Old Firm rivals. Ferguson isn't a defensive-minded coach. Nor is he one with a specific attacking philosophy.
He’s a pragmatist. Just like his mentor, Walter Smith. Just like his former team-mate, who has regularly been touted for the role, Derek McInnes.
And it just so happens that right now at Ibrox that's exactly what this group of players need.
Ferguson’s win wasn't one for the purists or football hipsters.
Not once in his pre or post match interviews did he talk about xG, low blocks or shots on target.
He just got the job done with what he had at his disposal. And ultimately, that’s what Philippe Clement, couldn't do. Far too often, he tried to complicate matters. By the end, the Belgian was driving punters crazy with some of his comments.
Whether it was sports science - or daring to have a pop at serial winner Jose Mourinho’s tactics just days after his team lost to Queen's Park - Clement was in danger of losing the plot.
Ferguson has simplified things at Ibrox, on and off the pitch. It’s no coincidence, for example, that almost immediately after taking on the role as interim gaffer, every player bar Oscar Cortes has declared themselves fully fit.
When was that the case under Clement? After 120 minutes of graft against Fenerbahce, he’d have turned up on the other side of the city talking about ‘managing minutes’.
But before an Old Firm derby that phrase would never leave Ferguson's mouth.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742347059/articles/xvoTfuILunhaJpTaWlsys/2623634162.jpg]
There's no way Clement would have started Leon Balogun or Dujon Sterling after their exertions in Europe.
It’s believed the club's sports scientists told Ferguson the pair - along with Vaclav Cerny and Mo Diomande - were in the red zone and in danger of burnout. But the manager's only concern was getting his best team out on the park - and getting a result.
That's exactly what happened on Sunday. Pragmatism.
For Ferguson to have that kind of buy-in so early in his stint with players who know there's a chance he won't be in charge come the summer is a feat he and his staff deserve huge credit for.
Irrespective of what was at stake league-wise, the 3-2 win over Celtic was probably even more important for the club's former skipper.
To describe his set-up as basic or rudimentary would be disrespectful. Not for the first time, Ferguson got his tactics spot on and he tweaked it in-game, another thing that Clement was so reluctant to do.
But above everything else, it was pragmatic. He devised a plan with what he had and went with it. The crucial thing is, though, that he’s getting these players to work.
This ...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 19, 2025