ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT THIS STEVIE?
STEVEN Gerrard is on the brink of becoming the new Rangers manager and could be appointed by the end of the week.
The 37-year-old is eager to move back into senior football, having spent the last 12 months in charge of Liverpool’s Under 18s, and the idea of starting his management career at a club of such stature appeals to him.
Rangers first contacted Gerrard and his advisers 10 days ago but they are desperate to confirm interim manager Graeme Murty’s successor now that the final Old Firm derby of the season — in which they were totally humiliated 5-0 by Celtic — is out of the way.
There were talks last week but Gerrard (below) wanted to focus on Liverpool’s final U18 match of the season — they lost 2-0 to Manchester City on Saturday — before concentrating on his next career move.
He has been linked to other jobs — notably with Championship club Ipswich — but none has appealed to him in the way that Rangers does. Gerrard will have his eyes open, though, about the size of the task ahead.
Celtic are on another level to Rangers at present, with the Champions League income rolling in, and Gerrard will need final assurances from chairman Dave King that he will be given the opportunity to make his mark at a club where expectation and reality are miles apart.
If Gerrard does accept Rangers’ offer, it is expected he will bring a backroom team with him to Glasgow that consists of Gary McAllister, currently a Liverpool ambassador, along with his U18 assistant Tommy Culshaw and fitness coach Jordan Milsom. While the former England captain has received encouragement to take the chance, others believe he would be making a big mistake going to a club who have spent a decade making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Writing in the Sunday Times, Graeme Souness, who spent five years as manager at Ibrox, argued Gerrard would be brave to think about going there and explained the heat he would find himself subjected to from day one. ‘People in England don’t understand the raw passion that exists for these two big clubs in Glasgow. It is definitely the biggest derby of the lot. It would be a brave move by Steven if he takes it. You have to be No 1 to escape criticism in Scotland. If you are second, you are nowhere.’