SCOTLAND midfielder Paul Lambert believes Barry Ferguson's decision to leave Rangers for Blackburn will benefit the former Gers skipper in the same way as the Celtic star's switch to Borussia Dortmund.

Lambert left Motherwell in 1996 to join the star-studded German side and his decision was vindicated a year later when he picked up a Champions League medal when Dortmund beat Juventus 3-1 in the final.

Now the veteran Parkhead schemer is backing Ferguson to reap the rewards of his new challenge, too.

Graeme Souness's £6 million signing has taken time to find his feet in the Premiership so far, prompting criticism from pundits like Ian St John.

But Lambert insists Ferguson's decision to move south will turn out to be the making of him once he gets his feet firmly under the table at his new club.

He said: "It is a great move for him and I am sure that in time he will be fine.

"If you are down there and your family are up here in Scotland then you will miss them and it takes time to settle in.

"It makes it worse if you are not winning but Blackburn had a good result against Everton on Monday and by all accounts he is starting to play better.

"I think he is a really good player and it will be beneficial for him to be playing in the Premiership.

"I benefited, like all players do, from playing with better players. I don't care what anyone says, if you have good players around you then the game is easy.

"I played with phenomenal players, guys who had won the World Cup and who had won Serie A, and they taught me good things and without a doubt that brought me on as a player."

Ferguson underlined his ability with an outstanding first half performance against Everton on Monday which resulted in him being named man of the match.

He also shone on his previous appearance at Ewood when Rovers lost to Liverpool in the Carling Cup.

Graeme Souness certainly has no regrets about bringing him to England and the Rovers boss believes the 25-year-old become even more influential as the season progresses.

"Barry is an all-round central midfielder who will be a top man for another seven or eight years. He's only going to get better and better," said Souness.

"He is a young fella but he has shown leadership qualities.

"I understand he got some criticism in his first few games which, in my opinion, was totally unfair.

"We had to pay a lot of money for him and I think that made him an easy target with us not winning.

"I have never had a doubt about his ability to perform at this level. He will be one of the top midfield players in this country and I have seen nothing to change my mind.

"He's had one or two personal problems in his life which seem to have affected him a bit but he is a genuine player."

In the meantime, Lambert is hoping Ferguson can show his ability in Scotland's play-off game against Holland on Saturday when he will captain the side in Lambert's absence.

He said: "Barry is a natural Scotland captain. He was the captain against Lithuania and he will be the captain in the future. He is only around 25 so he has got a good few years ahead of him.

"Hopefully he will come back up the road this week and play well against Holland because he is really important for Scotland.

"He is the one everyone will look at, to take the game by the scruff of the neck when he comes up against guys like Edgar Davids who is a world class player."