It will take Steve years to compete with Hoops
BY STEVEN BEACOM JOHN McCLELLAND believes it would take Steven Gerrard a couple of years to compete with “runaway train” Celtic if he takes over at Rangers.
The former Ibrox skipper says appointing someone of the Liverpool hero’s stature would be a “massive boost” for his old club.
But McClelland knows he could only stop their rivals doing 10 in a row if the board deliver on promises of major investment in the club.
He said: “Having a figurehead like Gerrard would give the club a massive boost but it would only be the first boost.
“I just worry for him is he going to get the complete support he deserves, or any manager for that matter, because whoever comes in will need big investment to challenge Celtic.
“If Gerrard does take over one of his remits would be to stop Celtic winning 10 in a row. It is unrealistic to think that it could be done in a season.
“With the right backing it would take a couple to compete. You want to show progress and what you are building, do well in some of the cups, get the standard up then you could really challenge for the title.
“It will be very tough for Gerrard or whoever takes over because he’ll have to stop the runaway train that is Celtic at the moment.
“Brendan Rodgers had a good base to work from when he came in but even so he has done a great job.” BY CRAIG SWAN BILLY DODDS reckons Rangers are broken from top to bottom and have “used and abused” shattered Graeme Murty.
The former Ibrox striker feels his old club are in disarray and it won’t matter who is appointed as manager until the turmoil is fixed behind the scenes.
Dodds hit out at Rangers for a lack of structure, strategy and leadership from the boardroom to the management, the dressing room and even the media department.
He reckons the club’s treatment of Murty has been awful with the interim coach left to take the heat over the past six months.
Dodds now believes root and branch surgery is required to sort the chaos.
He said: “The club has got to be smoothed out from top to bottom. Who is making the decisions? Obviously Douglas Park. The chairman Dave King has handed it to him.
“Having coached at two or three clubs, you’ve got to be aligned with your chairman.
“At Rangers, it’s not even the chairman to your manager, it’s like chairman to vice-chairman or to Dougie Park, then you’re not sure what’s happening.
“Is it your manager or director of football who is signing the players? There’s got to be a line of command.
“It’s just, ‘We’ve used you, we’ve abused you, now off you pop’. It’s going to be harder for Graeme to now go back to being a youth coach.
“If I had been treated like that twice I couldn’t go back into that Under-20s role. You’re trying to help out and they just bin you?
“The structure of your youth set-up has now been hindered as well. They keep making problems for themselves.”
Dodds blames Dave King for Murty dealing with dissent and indiscipline from the players after his statement undermined his authority earlier this month.
And he reckons vicechairman Alastair Johnston’s