Barry Ferguson has criticised Brendan Rodgers for his "unnecessary" and "wrong" comments.
The Celtic manager had aimed a dig at Ferguson, along with Neil McCann and Billy Dodds, for their remarks on current Rangers boss Russell Martin.
Rodgers defended Martin amidst intense scrutiny and said the trio's assessments didn't sit right with him.
Ferguson had already responded, defending his allies, and has now expressed his thoughts further.
He told the Daily Record: "The one thing I would stress is that it hasn’t diminished in any way my respect for him as an excellent and very successful manager.
"But I do feel I also have to make it clear that what he said was wrong.
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"Neither myself, Neil McCann or Billy Dodds have said anything disrespectful about Russell or what’s been going on at Rangers this season.
"I have listened to every word of it and it’s been constructive at all times.
"None of it has been even remotely personal."
Ferguson also pointed out that the criticism was aimed at his backroom staff, but believes it was directed at the entire team, including himself.
He said: "People have said the criticism was aimed at my backroom staff but, for me, it was aimed at all of us.
"They were my staff, I was in charge, so it was aimed at me as well."
He acknowledged that their tactics weren't always perfect as they lost a few games, but highlighted their successes against Celtic.
He said: "We did get our tactics spot on when we won at Celtic Park and they couldn’t beat us at Ibrox in the second Old Firm derby."
Ferguson found the tone of Rodgers' comments unnecessary and believed it was a deflection tactic.
He said: "Like I’ve said, it’s an emotional game and sometimes people say things they later regret.
"I’m not angry but we are guys who have played, coached and understand the game so I found the tone of what was said just very unnecessary."
Ferguson agreed with Kris Boyd's suggestion that Rodgers was trying to deflect focus away from Celtic fan protests.
He said: "It just felt a bit odd coming from a man of his experience.
"It felt very much like a deflection tactic."
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