BEHIND ENEMY LINES
He ran a gauntlet of hate every time he turned out for Liverpool at Goodison and can expect similar today at Celtic Park, but Gerrard relishes going...
EMBRACE the hostility. That will be Steven Gerrard’s mantra to his players as they take to the field at Celtic Park this afternoon. As a player, Gerrard revelled in the chance to operate on enemy territory. Specifically, he adored Liverpool’s trips across Stanley Park to play Everton in the Merseyside derby.
‘I was hated there, abused there,’ said the Rangers manager. ‘It felt different winning there. At Anfield, we were expected to win, so the result didn’t feel as big.
‘Going to Goodison and outplaying Everton in front of their crowd in that atmosphere and then to enjoy it with your supporters – that was more special.
‘I’m not sure whether all players thought like that but I used to love playing at Goodison and I preferred the derby games there by a mile.
‘I haven’t experienced that here yet, so, hopefully, one day we can come back to that question.
‘I suppose it would feel similar, but I would like my players to have that attitude because it would be fantastic for them.’
Gerrard experienced two narrow defeats in the east end of Glasgow last season and admits he craves a first win at Parkhead.
‘We must respect the environment, it’s hostile, similar to Ibrox, as both sets of supporters cause a helluva noise,’ he added. ‘But you should embrace that and let it motivate you. The opportunity to win there would be firmly in my thinking if I was a player and it’s certainly in my thinking now as a manager. The players have to be really excited by that and not fear it.
‘But it’s very important you come out of the blocks ready and you’re not cold. Celtic Park is certainly a place that if you suffer a negative start, then it can be tough to recover from that.’
The heartbeat of club and country for a decade and more, Gerrard thrived on the challenge of confronting adversity.
Inheriting a team that was routinely taken apart by its city rivals, then under the charge of his old Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers, Gerrard knew he had to change the fabric of the Rangers squad.
The Betfred Cup final provided ample evidence that in plain footballing terms, his team are capable of going toe-to-toe with Celtic. Their performances in Europe suggest there are more levels to be attained.
Yet there remains a mental hurdle to overcome. Lose today, and the Ibrox men will go eight points behind, albeit with a game in hand.
Win, and the gap narrows to two, a margin that might suggest Rangers are finally edging towards honours-winning territory.
‘At Liverpool, we had a group of players who had, excuse me, b***s, character, and it didn’t matter the environment or the occasion, we backed ourselves,’ he continued. ‘If we played to our level, we could compete with any team in Europe. Certainly from 2004 onwards, we felt like we could match anyone because we had top players.
‘This team should be relishing games like these and, of late, I have started to sense they are. When we first came together, there was a lot of change, inexperience, players getting put together.
‘The first 45 minutes at Celtic Park against Brendan’s team, I could see some of my players weren’t ready. Compared to 12 months ago, we have a better chance of going toe-to-toe now. We proved it at a neutral venue. I was disappointed in us in the first Old Firm game at Ibrox. We did not play that well and we made mistakes that were costly.
‘But our performance in the cup final should give players the belief and confidence that we can more than match them. We can believe in ourselves and go there and win. ‘To qualify for the last 32 in Europe, reach a major cup final and play as we did and show the consistency we have in the league, I already know there has been huge progress.
‘I’m the manager of Rangers and I see the players every day. We’ve been playing non-stop since mid-July, so that’s a better gauge to see if my players have progressed rather than going on one result. ‘The pattern this season suggests the Old Firm results could be crucial. But I’d rather judge us over the course of a season.’ Last term’s league fixtures between the Glasgow teams went with home advantage, each side taking six points apiece.
This campaign, Celtic have had the upper hand. A relatively comfortable 2-0 league win at Ibrox in early September was followed by a Betfred Cup performance that, although clearly inferior to Rangers on the day, was still enough to secure the trophy. For Gerrard, today’s puzzle is to come up with a game plan that replicates the aggression and intensity of the cup-final performance but also does not leave the team exposed to Celtic’s ability to counter-attack at speed.
He added: ‘I’d be naive if I didn’t study Celtic and be diligent in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, but I won’t be worrying about trying to nullify them.
‘That would be going in very negatively and I don’t think our fans would be happy if I said I’d be happy with a 0-0. It’s not the case.
‘We must handle Celtic’s strengths but, at the same time, carry a real threat.
‘That’s what we got right and nearly got perfect in the cup final, so this one won’t be much different in terms of the approach.’
Outplaying Everton in the derbies at Goodison was more special