Gerrard wants to play father figure to a new Ibrox generation but offers same advice his old man gave him: This is just the beginning
m.gannon@dailyrecord.co.uk a lot of kids. I remember the advice I got off my dad when I signed as a professional.
“I thought I was there – but he told me it was just the start.
“That’s the difference. It’s the beginning of the journey when you get in and around the first team but a lot of kids think they are there.
“But talent only gets you so far, especially at a club like this.
“It will earn you a career at some level but if you want to be at the top, playing European football, in front of this Ibrox crowd, going to Celtic Park and performing, then you need to have more than talent in your locker.
“That’s the reason a lot of academy players don’t get there.
“I’m not sure they have the right people around them telling them this from a young age.
“It’s not just about coming here and training for an hour and a half, showing your talent and going home, thinking you’re a player. It doesn’t work like that at the top.”
Gerrard highlights his big pal as a source of inspiration to the young guns. He said: “I want to play academy kids yesterday. I want to give them an opportunity because I have been there.
“I have lived it, I have dreamed it, I have done it.
“Carragher got his opportunity and he proved he was better than the Liverpool defenders who were in the team at the time.
“He had talent, yes, but his strength was his heart, his head and his desire and sacrifice on a daily basis to make sure he was professional and stayed in the Liverpool team.
“He’s probably the most mentally strong player I ever played with.
“If it was just about talent Carragher would have played for Liverpool maybe a dozen times.
“But what he done was that he put everything around his talent that you need to be a professional and to stay at the top.”
Rangers were left playing catch up when the youth set-up was left to go to seed under previous regimes but progress has been quick.
It’s all about the next step and Gerrard said: “We took four kids to Dubai with us last week and we analyse everything about them on and off the pitch.
“How are they around the first team? Are they shy? Are they communicating?
“Are they humble? Is this someone you want to go to war with on the football pitch?
“Is it someone you trust, or are they quitting and hiding when we’re in possession or they are getting beaten in the five-a-sides?
“We know if they are ready to affect the squad on a long-term basis. The kids handled themselves pretty well.”
Talented full-back Patterson falls into that category.
Gerrard said:
“He is one for the future. I wouldn’t say he is 100 per cent ready for the first team just yet.
“Having said that, I gave him a taste of the first team over in Dubai and he done himself no harm. He has a fantastic physique. He will grow into a man. Talent and abilitywise, I like what I see.”
Gerrard is hoping for a bright future in the Scottish Cup as well.
MICHAEL GANNON
He desperately wants to get his hands on this trophy and warned his squad there can be no slackness against League One minnows Stranraer tonight.
He said: “Those [cup shock] results can live with you for a long time. With all due respect, this will be the biggest game of many of the Stranraer players’ careers.
“I’m sure there are a few Rangers fans among them who are relishing the chance to play at Ibrox. So they will be playing at 150 per cent.
“And if we start getting complacent, that’s where complications can happen.”