Gerrard presses Rangers on funds
more cerebral approach, a tactician and training-ground technician who worked on attacking positional drills.
Liverpool are so well-drilled in Klopp’s fluid 4-3-3 system that the loss of Buvac is unlikely to materially effect their season, with just two Premier League outings and potentially two more Champions League spins to come. But the loss of a man who has been such a big part of Klopp’s success as well as a crucial sounding board on substitutions in the dugout could have ramifications in the tighter moments to come, in Rome tomorrow and potentially in Kiev at the end of the month. Liverpool supporters will have received yesterday’s news with a feeling of unease given parallels from their recent past.
Gerard Houllier steered the club to a trophy treble in 2001, including the UEFA Cup, but lost his assistant Patrice Bergues shortly after, a departure which led to a loss of form the following season.
And in 2007, history repeated after the club’s Champions League defeat by AC Milan when assistant manager Pako Ayestaran quit Anfield after a falling-out with Rafa Benitez. not sign up to challenge his former Anfield boss without the necessary finances.
After speaking to the 37-year-old over the weekend, Murphy said: “The truth is there’s nothing definitive. He has had talks and they were positive. He’s got more talks this week.
“Stevie is a really ambitious guy. He always has been from the day he walked on to the training field at Melwood as a young lad.
“But he’s also bright and I don’t think he’s going to put himself into a position where he walks into a job with his hands tied in terms of the resources he’s got to compete with Brendan. He’s probably needing some more reassurances.”
The club’s latest financial figures showed they had received £17.7million in interest-free loans from shareholders and other investors by the turn of the year, at least some of which they plan to turn into equity.
They also received a short-term external loan of around £3m, and concrete plans for a proposed incomeraising share issue have not yet materialised.
Gerrard is likely to press the Rangers board over the finances available to him should he take over a club who are third in the Premiership and level on points with fourth-placed Hibernian.
Murphy added on talkSPORT: “The only thing with that is how do you get concrete reassurances with something like that?
“I suppose as a football club Rangers can’t be trying to get someone like Stevie, who is young, hungry and ambitious, to go there and compete and sell him a dummy.
“You have to think there’s some credibility in what they are trying to do.
“He was excited but without the confirmation of what they are actually going to give him.
“There’s legs in it but there’s a bit to go.”