I thought it was the wrong statement for him to make in his first game A leaf straight from Fergie’s playbook or a rookie manager caught in heat of the moment?

THERE would be a certain irony in Pittodrie being the venue at which Steven Gerrard reached for a page straight out of the Sir Alex Ferguson playbook.

Angered by the performance of referee Kevin Clancy and his assistants, the Rangers manager created eye-catching headlines after his domestic debut in charge of the club.

It was one thing to state he felt ‘the world was against’ his ten-man side in their 1-1 draw against Aberdeen.

To follow up by effectively claiming the nation’s referees have given Rangers a rough ride for ‘seasons’ added no little piquancy to his entry into Scottish Premiership action.

Only Gerrard knows whether his comments were born purely of frustration or carried some wider intention. But he wouldn’t exactly be the first manager to try and foster a siege mentality within his dressing room.

Ferguson famously did so to great effect during his time at Aberdeen — when he would point fingers at the west-coast bias of the media — and again during his legendary 26-year spell in charge at Old Trafford.

‘He persuaded us Manchester United are the team everyone loves to hate,’ Ryan Giggs once recalled. ‘He makes us feel everyone wants us to come second and it is us against the world. He lays down the challenge for you to take up.’

Is Gerrard seeking a similar reaction? Former Ibrox striker Gordon Dalziel believes that may well have been the intention behind the double-barrelled blast that opened his tenure with a sizeable bang.

Dalziel, though, is sceptical about the need for such an approach and questions whether the heat of the moment took its toll.

‘Steven Gerrard might see it as: “Right, we’re all going to have this bubble, we’ll stick together, we’ll beat the world and this will make us stronger”,’ said Dalziel, who covered Sunday’s game in his role as a radio pundit with Clyde 1.

‘It might be a process for him where he thinks he can bring the boys together by saying everyone is against them and no-one wants them to win.

‘Is it for me? Honestly, no. To say that decisions have gone against them for years, I thought that was the wrong statement for Steven Gerrard to make.

‘Are you telling me he has watched the Rangers games for the last two or three years and noted down the decisions? Come on. He has been terrific for the Scottish game.

‘He has brought excitement and I think he has said good and positive things.

‘You have remember this is his first job and that was his first game against a domestic rival. Emotions go high, especially when they are so hard done by to only come away with a point.

‘I have been there. You go into a press room after a game and you say things. Then you sit back at night, relax a bit, the adrenalin stops and you think: “What the hell did I say that for?”

‘I don’t know, that might not be the case at all here. Steven might be delighted he said that.

‘But you could go and interview a manager anywhere and they’d say they didn’t get decisions at certain times.

‘If he feels that saying those words can be an ammunition for the Rangers players and it works, then fair play to him. Personally, I don’t think it’s an avenue he needs to go down as I feel he handles everything extremely well.’

There was certainly enough to raise Gerrard’s blood pressure at Pittodrie. He was upset by the officials failing to notice the ‘provocation’ of Scott McKenna’s barges before showing Alfredo Morelos a 12th-minute red card for kicking out at the Aberdeen defender. Rangers have now lodged an appeal against that punishment with the SFA.

Then came Dom Ball’s tug on Josh Windass. While Clancy awarded a penalty that James Tavernier converted, Gerrard was baffled at the failure to show the Dons right-back even a yellow card.

Rangers continued to look the superior side despite their disadvantage, but were denied an opening victory when youngster Bruce Anderson netted a 93rdminute leveller with the home side’s first shot on target.

Former Rangers boss Stuart McCall knows what that kind of finale can do to a manager’s mindset. He reckons Gerrard had valid grievances on Sunday, yet doesn’t buy any idea that officials might have it in for his old club.

‘Listen, you hear these kind of things everywhere, be it from a (Jose) Mourinho or whoever,’ said McCall.

‘I think Steven comes across as a fair-minded person, so it might just have been a reaction.

‘He’s also in a situation where I can imagine him hearing everyone around him going on about decisions. People talk that way within clubs.

‘Jim McCluskey booked me three times in my first five games (as a player) in Scotland. At the time, I’m thinking: “Oh, he’s against me, he’s against Rangers”. But I ended up thinking he was one of the best referees in the country.

‘I don’t think there is any agenda against any side.

‘It’s a tough job to ask someone to do because you can’t win.’

Sportsmail understands Gerrard is unlikely to face any SFA action over his comments, with a view that they fall just within the acceptable guidelines.

‘At Motherwell, I thought Clancy was one of the better referees who were up-and-coming at the time,’ added McCall.

‘They don’t give decisions with any favouritism but I get the frustration you feel at full-time. I’m not saying Scottish referees are the best but they do a job that is difficult.

‘There will be decisions in the next week, month and season that go against Rangers. But they will also go against other sides.

‘As much as you could see how proud Steven was of the performance — and he should be — deep down you are really disappointed as a manager because it was a game you should have won over the period.’