Our star columnists have their say on all the latest Old Firm news

New manager can only prosper if Allen & Co instil winning mentality all through Ibrox from top to bottom

THE Rangers board will be in no doubt about the importance of the decisions they will make over the next couple of weeks and months. This is a massive, massive period for the club. Celtic are at seven-in-a-row and we all know what they want and the historic significance for both clubs. The way it looks right now, they will get that no problem because they have got one of the best managers in the UK, or Europe, they have got a strong squad of players and that winning mentality. Last year, the standards and levels were that high that they are getting criticism this season even though they are heading for back-to-back Trebles. That sums up the scrutiny in this country, and maybe the negativity. Graeme Murty is finding out just now just what that pressure can be like in the Old Firm and it is something that the next Rangers manager is going to have to deal with. There is a lot of focus right now on who Rangers will appoint as manager and of course that decision is hugely significant. But the boss is only one part of the club. You need to be working in a winning environment, a stable environment and one where there is a culture of trust. That is massive in the dressing room, but it is also massive in terms of the relationship between the dugout and the boardroom. That culture and that mentality has to be created when new people come in and that is something that Rangers will need to forge with their next manager. It is important that everyone, at every level and between every level, has that working relationship. If you are going to be successful, you need to be cohesive from top to bottom. I went down to Man City to meet Mark Allen when he was there and I thought he spoke very well. He has great contacts in the game and I was impressed with what he was doing at that level.

I had to do a report on it and I spoke to all of the coaches, like Jason Wilcox, and I was trying to find out how the system worked and what the environment was like.

As director of football, he will have a key role in the appointment of the next manager. He has to get it right.

The board are trying to find solutions to get the club back to where we want to be and they are doing the right thing by going and speaking to a guy of Steven Gerrard’s stature in the game.

Yes, he is inexperienced as a manager. But he is very experienced in the world of football.

He can bring in an experienced assistant to help him and having someone like Gary McAllister alongside him will certainly be a benefit.

Appointing him would be good PR for the club. It would give the fans a boost.

There is negativity about Steven in some quarters but it doesn’t matter who the manager is, there will always be some people who aren’t happy with it.

Having someone of the stature of Gerrard would be good and the board are doing the right thing by sitting down and speaking to him.

Football players will always show respect to someone who has been at the top of the game and Gerrard has been at that level since he first burst onto the scene.

He has won the Champions League, won cups in England and played at major finals for his country. He is a huge figure in the game.

So as soon as he walks into that dressing room, he commands respect. Whether he has managed a team for 10 years or never at all, that history gets you respect.

After that, it is up to him to show what he can do and then his approach, his relationships with the players and his training and tactics need to come to the fore, just like any other manager.

Every manager or coach has to start somewhere in the game and you are just looking for that club to take a chance on you and have that bit of faith in you.

That might be a bit of a leap of faith at times but if you appoint a manager you have to back him in terms of investment.

Steven won’t be daft. He is streetwise enough and he knows the game inside out.

I am sure he will be getting advice from different people in the game so he will know what needs to happen at Rangers.

When you make a managerial appointment, there is always an element of risk attached and the move would be an interesting one for Rangers and for Steven.