GERRARD SEES THE BIG PRIZE SLIP AGAIN
‘I’m an emotional person. In the low moments, I’m not one of those people who can put the poker face on. I never have been.’ – Steven Gerrard, November 2018
Those words came during the course of an interview with this paper during which Gerrard discussed the difference between playing and managing.
he knew his approach would have to be tapered, given he had just taken charge of Rangers, but equally he knew it would be easier said than done.
There was another strand to that conversation. Gerrard wanted to resume it if he ever had the opportunity to win silverware in the second phase of his career, to make the comparison between winning as a player and manager, so here we were at hampden for a hugely symbolic fixture.
The scottish League Cup final, a shootout between Rangers and Celtic, was loaded with potential for Gerrard and his team. Green and white have been the dominant colours north of the border for most of this decade but here was the chance to put blue back on the map.
some may dismiss this as nothing more than a parochial squabble but to be inside hampden in the 20 minutes before kick-off — with the noise that raised the hairs on the back of your neck, the pyrotechnics and the emotion — it felt as if a world title was on the line.
This was the stage Gerrard loved; the days when it really mattered. You could see as he prowled around his technical area that he was itching to be out there. Judging by the glorious way he cushioned a ball that dropped out of play in the second minute, even at 38 he wouldn’t have been out of place.
Instead, he had to stand and suffer. As the unrelenting rain battered down, making the pitch a cabbage patch, Gerrard barely left the touchline. he was respectful of Celtic’s threat but, equally, he had left nothing to chance in his team’s preparations and felt this could be their day.
It should have been their day. Rangers started like an express train and pummelled their bitter foe. one goal would have provided lift- off but the longer the contest progressed without Rangers making their dominance count — Alfredo Morelos, the Colombian striker, defined the word profligacy — the more you could see the twist. It came in the 61st minute when Christopher Jullien pounced.
When Morelos missed a penalty two minutes later, you knew how this tale was going to end. It was here Gerrard became an open book — scowling, remonstrating, encouraging — his feelings were there for all to see as the silverware began to slip away.
‘The feeling is pretty similar to losing as a player,’ said Gerrard. ‘I’m gutted for the players. one moment — well, a couple of moments — has decided it. In terms of the performance, they could not have given any more.’
You could see it in his eyes. The manner in which Rangers conceded will be on his mind for days — he felt three Celtic players were offside — but he did not try to deflect from the incredible sequence their neighbours have put together. Celtic have now won 10 straight trophies, a feat Neil Lennon labelled ‘absolutely remarkable’, and are unbeaten in 31 cup ties dating back to 2016. Lennon also made history by becoming only the second man after Billy McNeill to do a domestic clean sweep as player and manager for the same club.
Gerrard, on the other hand, simply wants to get his first one on the board. The conversation he wants to have will have to take place at a later date.