It was a phone call that could have led to a British transfer for the ages - not to mention dramatically altering Rangers ’ history two decades ago. But even though the chat ultimately led to nothing, just being in the conversation spoke volumes. Alex McLeish has for the first time revealed how he took a call from his old mentor Sir Alex Ferguson sounding him out over a move for Barry Ferguson - to replace Roy Keane in the Manchester United engine room. Ferguson was captain of Blackburn Rovers and Scotland at the time. And although he would soon be on his way back to Govan for a second spell as Gers skipper it could all have been so different had the United boss followed up his interest first. United legend Keane’s relationship with his boss at Old Trafford was breaking down and heading for a bitter split after 12 years. Sir Alex knew he needed a huge character with broad shoulders to fill the void left by a man who had dominated Premier League midfields for over a decade. Few managers were better judges of character. And the fact Ferguson was among the names on his mind says everything about the current Rangers caretaker’s leadership qualities. In the end McLeish was delighted to convince him back to Ibrox for a second spell and to help get Rangers over the line as champions in 2005. But with Ferguson now entrusted as the main man in the dug out he once commanded, McLeish hopes that same fiery, unflinching hunger to succeed that attracted Sir Alex will stand him in good stead for landing the job permanently. McLeish said: “Barry was the leader in the dressing room, no doubt about it. We had our wee shouts at each other. But you know what you've got with Barry and what you're going to get. “His consistency was fantastic. I actually remember Sir Alex phoning me around the time he fell out with Roy Keane. “He said: ‘look, I’m seeing Ferguson is doing good stuff at Blackburn’. He was thinking about him. But it never quite happened. “Barry would have handled that no problem because he has a massive mentality and belief in himself. “He would have been replacing Keane which would have been a big one. I told him back in the day that the gaffer had mentioned him and asked about him. “I told Sir Alex he was one of the best I’d ever worked with and seen from my own playing days as a driving midfielder. He was like some of the guys you see nowadays like Declan Rice. “Although Fergie maybe wasn’t quite the tackler that Roy was - Erling Haaland’s da’ knows about that!” Two decades on and McLeish is seeing the same ferocious appetite to win games of football coursing through Ferguson on the touchline as he looks to get a tune out of a Rangers side stuttering almost as badly as Man U. He reckon he looks the part and sounds the part. But you can only play with the cards you’ve been dealt. And that’s why McLeish would love to see him get a transfer window to properly put this stamp on the team. He said: “He’s not had the greatest deck of cards. So he's had to try and impose his personality on the team. He’s tried to get something out of them and improve them confidence-wise and man-manage them well. “And obviously try and get to the level that he reached. I really feel he's looked the part of being a Rangers manager. He's said the right things. That doesn't mean that they win games because he says the right things. “He's got a great pedigree of top-level football as a player. And I think he understands top-level players. Unfortunately, the results in Premiership haven’t been what he would have wanted. “But he's certainly got a shift out of them in the big games when you look at the Celtic game and Europe. I would love him to get it.” Domestically results have been chaotic. But McLeish, reflecting on his own trophy-less summer of 2004 which ultimately led to a reboot and the euphoric Helicopter Sunday title triumph a year later, said “You don’t put the blame on Barry. “If you look at the level of recruitment, has it been great over the past few years? Celtic have taken a big march in that respect. I'd like to see him get his own deck of cards. “As David Murray said to me, when we had a barren season, I went over to see him in France, and he said, ‘look, you’re not getting fired’. I said: ‘wow, that’s relief’. “He just said I hadn’t had a great deck cards up until that point so let’s go next year. We had more time to bring players in and it wasn’t last minute like it was the year before. “We then had that famous Helicopter Sunday situation. I’m not looking to criticise the players who are there just now and say it’s their fault. I think he's definitely got a rise out of one or two of them “When I joined Rangers, I spoke to Walter Smith. We went out for dinner with Ethel and Jill and I said to Walter, ‘you've got to give me some tips, mate, what do you do?’ “He said: ‘just win’. There was a big expletive in between the just and the win! “Funnily enough, I’ve texted Barry lately telling him to keep his head up and keep his chest out. “And I actually did give him Walter’s quote which he laughed at.” “Alex McLeish was promoting Premier Sports’ live and exclusive coverage of Hearts v Aberdeen on Saturday from 12pm on Premier Sports 1. Watch Premier Sports via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV, STV Player and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription, and on the Premier Sports’ streaming platform.”