LET'S give Barry Ferguson a round of applause.

The Scot this week admitted his desire to win silverware was one of the reasons why he quit Blackburn Rovers for a return to Rangers.

Well that ambition was realised on Sunday as his side won the CIS Insurance Cup against Motherwell. Ahem, yes, that's Motherwell, those giants of the Scottish game, and a test for any player wanting to push himself to the limit as a professional footballer. (The score was 5-1!)

Before that colossus of a game, when the pace and power of the English Premiership must have felt like a life-time away, Ferguson said: "Blackburn are doing okay and they're in an FA Cup semi-final but it did cross my mind about the trophies.

"It was one of the reasons why I came back - I want to win things. You dream of being a football player because you want to win medals and trophies."

Some dream that must have been - playing in a country where the silverware either goes to Rangers or Celtic. If you play for one or the other for long enough, you are guaranteed a haul of pots.

Somewhere in the attic at my mum and dad's house, there's a box with a dozen rusty medals and cups with my name on it. They've been there 25 years because they don't mean anything. I played in the Anfield Junior League with a team that won everything - every year. Those tin-pots didn't make me a better player.

Sure, they boosted my confidence but the only way I could ever improve was to join a team in a higher division and play at a higher standard.

And that's something Ferguson should have done. He should have stayed in the Premiership with Rovers and pitted his wits against some of the best players in the world.

In fleeing back to Scotland, he has sold himself short.

A survey carried out this week - the Zoo Football Fans' Census (the biggest football survey ever carried out) - asked fans throughout the country for their most over-rated player.

A massive 33 per cent in Scotland named Barry Ferguson. He received more than double the votes of second on the list, James McFadden.

Rovers fans have mixed feelings about their ex-skipper's time at Ewood Park.

Some believe he did a great job in the heart of the midfield. Others, probably the majority, feel he never lived up to the fee or the hype that surrounded his arrival.

What is clear though is that Ferguson will always be seen as a quitter.

Given time, he could have become one of the best players to put on a Blackburn shirt. But he opted to go in search of silverware.

Nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing Rovers go on to win the FA Cup. Now that's a trophy players with real ambition really do dream of winning.

By going back to Rangers, and facing the likes of Kilmarnock, Inverness and Dunfermline, Fergie has sacrificed the biggest thing he could - his talent and his dreams - and no excuses for his move back up north can ever hide that.