GAFFER BACKED FOR GLORY RUN
Carragher says former Liverpool team-mate Gerrard has caught ‘the Rangers bug’ and could be in Glasgow for a long silver haul
STEVEN GERRARD is set to reign supreme in Scotland for years to come ahead of Rangers’ coronation – according to Jamie Carragher.
And he believes sticking around at Ibrox will do more for his burgeoning managerial career than a move to a mid-table English Premier League side.
Carragher’s friendship with the Ibrox boss stretches back more than 30 years after coming through the youth ranks at Liverpool together and going on to win multiple major honours at Anfield.
The ex-England defender reckons there will be plenty south of the border sneering at his old pal’s success in Scotland with Gerrard on the brink of leading Rangers to their first top tier title in a decade.
But Carragher insists it was a brave move by the 40-year-old to take on the challenge of trying to end the dominance of Celtic with his old Reds boss Brendan Rodgers having completed unprecedented back-toback Trebles by the time he took up position across the city.
Carragher knows plenty would have been hoping for such a high-profile figure like Gerrard to fail after landing a big job for his first gig as a boss.
But he has become one of the most important figures in the club’s history and Carragher believes the adulation of the fans will be another factor in ensuring he’s in Glasgow for the long haul.
Carragher sees no reason for him to depart Ibrox – and says his half-time rammy with John Beaton at Livingston in midweek is proof of his dedication.
The 43-year-old said: “There’s a new king of Scottish football and he looks ready to reign for a while.
“There was a time when I might have gone along with the idea that Rangers is a good first stepping stone for my former Liverpool team-mate, and he should have his eye on a swift Premier League return in readiness for an Anfield reunion later in his career.
“Having seen what he is building at Rangers, I do not believe he has to leave Ibrox and prove himself anywhere else.
“He has obviously fallen in love with the club and the city of Glasgow and looks to be settling in for the long haul.
“He will want to dominate Scottish football for several years and build a side capable of making headlines in the Champions League, which for obvious reasons is one of his biggest loves.
“Anyone who knows Stevie well need only look at his reaction against Livingston at half-time on Wednesday evening, when he was sent off for being livid at the decision not to award Alfredo Morelos a penalty.
“That’s how he is when dedicated to a cause. Fully committed. All in.
“Despite the title being done and dusted for weeks, every point matters. He has caught the Rangers bug. “The passion of the Rangers fans is a factor which can not be ignored in keeping Gerrard in Scotland for a long time. Something is missing when you win a title in lockdown.
“The chance to do it again when stadiums are full will drive Gerrard on next season because he knows what the atmosphere will be like when spectators return.
“When you have that level of trust, loyalty and adulation, it is not easily sacrificed for a club in the bottom half of the Premier League, where the ambition of mid-table safety would not put the same fire in his belly.
“A character like Gerrard will always live for trophies. That’s good news for Rangers if they keep backing their man, and worrying for Celtic.
“The broad reaction in England when Steven Gerrard lifts his first title will be ‘It’s only Scotland’. That’s the disrespectful tone Celtic and Rangers managers have had to deal with for over 30 years.
“Many outside the Glasgow bubble fail to grasp the stature of those clubs, how demanding and suffocating the pressure can be, and how challenging it is going head-to-head with your neighbours every year.
“The media coverage and scrutiny is intense. Unlike England – where there are several clubs sharing the limelight and a general acceptance you can have a good season without winning the title – for the Old Firm it’s all or nothing.
“Even those coaches who have been serial winners in Scotland have had to fight for credibility down south. This is not just the view of English supporters. Collecting league titles in Scotland is no guarantee of securing one of our biggest jobs. Brendan Rodgers was given a brilliant opportunity at Leicester but he was still headhunted by a team seeking to get into the Champions League rather than established in it.
“Martin O’Neill took on a comparable position when his next role after leaving Celtic in 2005 was Aston Villa. But when Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon left Scotland they joined Middlesbrough and Bolton, both in the Championship.
“If Gerrard continues to win big in Scotland, it is sure to land him many Premier League job offers.”
Gerrard lifted the Champions League as a player when he captained Liverpool to that famous win over AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005 and it’s a stage where he has excelled as a boss.
Gers are in the last-16 of the Europa League where they face Slavia Prague and Carragher said: “The European campaigns have been the bedrock of his reign. Rangers have given him the ideal platform to develop the winning habit as a manager, and can give him Champions League experience which will be invaluable in the long-term.
“Who else can offer him that at the moment? When he made the move to Scotland, it took guts. Whoever took on the Rangers job two-and-a-half years ago had to focus on an immediate objective of preventing Celtic winning 10 titles in a row. “Gerrard was always going to be judged on that, not just as a novice
coach.”
MENTOR MATCH Gerrard has taken old boss Rodgers’ spot as the top dog in Glasgow
STEVEN GERRARD slammed John Beaton for failing to apologise after their half-time rammy at Livingston as he accepted a one-match ban that will see him in the dugout for a potential Parkhead title clincher.
The Rangers boss is set to sit in the stand at Ibrox for today’s visit of St Mirren given his punishment following a red card during Wednesday night’s 1-0 win.
Gerrard was furious with whistler Beaton for denying his side a penalty when he booked Alfredo Morelos for diving and yesterday the Colombian won his appeal for
HE CAN RULE FOR YEARS