“You have a situation there where a player’s out for about five or six months or so and all of a sudden needs to come back into the fray and back into a very competitive environment,” Smith told Rangers World.

“The expectation from everyone is that he plays in the same manner as he did do before he got out, and it can’t be done.

“That’s one of the difficulties playing at Rangers: coming back in to a situation where the expectation level is extremely high.

“Any sensible person would know it’d take Barry three or four games to get up (to speed).”

Ferguson’s ability to play in the same midfield as summer signing Pedro Mendes has been questioned but Smith believes the pair dovetailed well in Saturday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League draw at Dundee United.

“I felt both players were excellent and that was a big aspect of the game,” the Rangers boss said.

“I thought they played extremely well throughout the match.”

He added: “They’re good players, both of them.

“It was just a matter of time before Barry started to play.

“Everybody has to show a level of patience, a level of common-sense and anybody who was looking at the game would realise that’s the case.”

Smith hopes striker Steven Naismith, who has not played for the first team for almost eight months due to a knee injury, is given more time to find his feet.

Naismith played for the reserves last week and is not far off a senior return.

Smith said: “We’ve got a similar problem with Steven Naismith coming back just now – although he won’t be under the same spotlight as Barry.

“We’re hopeful that, after a few games, we’ll be able to start to bring him back into the team again.

“It’ll always take him a little bit of time to settle in.”

Meanwhile, Smith insists his side have what it takes to stop conceding careless goals.

Rangers shipped another brace from crosses in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Tannadice, with United the latest club to exploit what appears to be a weakness in the Ibrox club’s rearguard.

Smith said: “We have coped with similar situations before and we still do have a decent defensive record, so it isn’t a continual problem for us.

“For that reason, I know the players can tighten up. There is a problem we need to deal with just now and I feel we are capable of doing that.”

As well as an aerial bombardment, Rangers can expect to see shots raining in from all over the park when they face Hibernian on Saturday.

The Edinburgh club recently beat Celtic, thanks in part to a 45-yard “squiggler” from John Rankin, which embarrassed Hoops goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Smith said: “We’ll just have to handle it if he tries it against us as well.

“Hibs have settled down now after a bit of disruption to their playing staff at the start of the season.

“They have had a few good wins recently and we are seeing they have players who are capable of causing problems.”