Gerrard should be Rooney’s first call if he needs some friendly pointers
IF WAYNE Rooney is to take his first permanent steps into management with Derby, he would do well to give one of his old England team-mates a call. Frank Lampard, of course, cut his own managerial teeth at Pride Park, just over two years ago, and is now on the fast-track to career success at Chelsea. But if I was Rooney, it is another Three Lions midfielder who moved to the dug-out in May 2018 I would want to speak to.
From an English football perspective, Steven Gerrard looked to have drawn the short straw when Lampard got the Derby job, weeks after he had chosen to begin his own management career with Rangers.
That judgement looked resoundingly correct 12 months later when Lampard switched to Chelsea and the jury remained out on Gerrard after a tough first year in charge – with Rangers outspent, outplayed and outcoached by Brendan Rodgers as Celtic sashayed to a nine-point title win – their eighth in a row.
The Hoops barely missed a beat as Rodgers left for Leicester in January, his imprint too strong to dismantle as Neil Lennon guided them home.
Gerrard stuck around and, although Celtic made it nine in a row this year, in a season cut short by the pandemic, the sense was the gap was closing. Fast forward to year three and it’s not very close any more, and the gap is all at Celtic’s expense. Gerrard’s Gers lead the league by a yawning 13 points and, for those rolling their eyes muttering ‘Scottish football’, they have also made their way confidently into the knockout stages of the Europa League, remaining unbeaten and leading Group G ahead of last night’s final fixtures. For two-and-a-half years now, Gerrard has learned his new trade in rare circumstances, left in relative peace by the spotlight of the English media, yet his every move scrutinised by the goldfish-bowl existence of life in the Old Firm. While Lampard transitions from world-class player to coach of world-class players, Gerrard has had to show empathy, nurturing a squad who are not capable of the things he was on a football pitch.
In Alfredo Moreno, he has had a crash course in managing the textbook ‘challenging player’, pacifying the headstrong Colombian striker while making Rangers less
reliant on his goals, their fortunes less tied to his turbulent moods.
The result is angry protests outside Parkhead, Celtic’s historic bid for ten in a row left in tatters, likely shattered not just by the hubris of sticking with a managerial mediocrity like Lennon but also by the emergence of a boss of
real substance at Ibrox. So Wayne, by all means give Frank a call about the lay of the land at Derby. But, with the Rams facing a relegation battle, if you want advice on adversity, getting a tune out of limited players and ultimately proving the doubters wrong, then Gerrard’s your man.