BARRY Ferguson has urged Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst to give Aaron Ramsey a start agianst Annan.

The Welshman has hinted on social media that he will make his bow in the Scottish Cup tomorrow night.

The on loan Juventus star has made two cameo appearances against Hearts and Hibs so far but Ferguson is in no doubt it’s time to get him on from the start.

He told the Daily Record: “It's time for Rangers to let Aaron Ramsey rip off the cotton wool.

“On the face of it, the prospect of facing Annan Athletic away on a plastic pitch in the middle of February, is hardly what lured the Welshman from Juventus on deadline day. And, yes, a lot of people would expect him to be given the weekend off rather than take the risk of sending him out on a synthetic surface in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

“But I’m prepared to make a bet here. If you asked him, Ramsey would play on a cow field or in a car park right now just to get some minutes in his legs and a first start under his belt.

“I must admit, I expected to see more of him than we have done over the last 10 days or so. I was surprised that he didn’t go straight onto the bench for the Old Firm game at Parkhead and I thought he’d get more than just 15 minutes as a sub against Hearts and Hibs.

“But I’d hazard a guess a decision has been made to effectively put him through a mini pre-season at Auchenhowie because he’s hardly had any football this season in Italy.

“I suspect they’ve been making him do a lot of extra work in training to bring his fitness levels up and now that he’s been working hard for the best part of a fortnight, it strikes me as the ideal time to get him out on that pitch this weekend. And I mean any pitch.

“Yes, I know there might be some raised eyebrows if a guy of Ramsey’s calibre is thrown into a full debut at Galabank against a side from League Two but, as far as I’m concerned, it seems like an ideal time and place to get him started.

“You can do all the training in the world but, for a player trying to get back to full fitness, nothing compares to getting minutes in competitive matches. It’s not a risk to play Ramsey this weekend, it’s an absolute must if Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants to get the most out of this signing.”