IBROX BOSS IS HUNGRY FOR MORE EURO GLORY
Gerrard hungry for European glory after recovering from his jubilant tummy slide
STEVEN GERRARD is ready to dive back in. Having been coaxed into a ‘Klinsmann’ slide by his players, the Rangers manager is determined to ensure this season brings more for them to celebrate together.
A video of Gerrard’s head-long plunge across a soaked dressingroom floor became one of the social media highlights from the Ibrox club’s in-house title party. After almost three years of work — and the relentless focus of an unbeaten league campaign — the 40-year-old let himself go in joyous recognition of what had been achieved.
It didn’t take long, though, for Slavia Prague to enter his thoughts. Tonight’s Europa League last-16 first leg provides a chance to break more new ground.
Going at least one step further than last season would be a perfect farewell to a competition that has delivered many memorable moments. The Champions League will beckon next time around.
Gerrard also has his eyes on the March 21 Old Firm derby —
Scottish Government permission pending — and next month’s start of a Scottish Cup journey.
Before the look forward, however, there was time for a look back. So, talk us through that belly slide?
‘That was just getting lost in the moment,’ smiled Gerrard. ‘I was goaded into that by the players.
‘I’ve goaded them and demanded so much from them for a long time. The least I could do is get lost in the moment, I suppose.
‘It’s nothing a little bit of Sudocrem hasn’t sorted out and I’m back in the routine, I’m hydrated and I’m ready for the next challenge.’
That comes in the shape of a team who knocked out Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City in the previous round.
Slavia may not carry the glamour of Manchester United or AC Milan but they have pedigree.
Europa League quarter-finalists two years ago, Jindrich Trpisovsky’s team have yet to lose in their domestic league this season. Gerrard knows Rangers will have to peak again.
‘I think the weekend gave us that feel for success and that hunger feeling,’ he said. ‘If I know these players as well as I think I know them, they will want more.
‘They want to go build on what we’ve achieved.
‘We’ve spoken about it and discussed it at length. It will be really interesting to see what performance we can find.
‘They trained well yesterday, they were hungry, they were focused. We’ve got a session today for preparation and a game plan ready for tomorrow. It’s a game we’re all looking forward to.
‘We will tell the players that they need to be ready and they need to be at their very best to complete this challenge because Slavia are a very good team, a very efficient team. They are really strong and powerful and can run a lot.
‘They can also play from a technical point of view. We are well aware of the size of this challenge. Slavia’s performance over both legs against Leicester was extremely strong.’
There can be no question that league supremacy was Rangers’ priority this season. After a decade without a trophy, securing title No 55 and stopping Celtic’s bid for ten in a row is a potentially pivotal moment in the club’s history.
Gerrard, though, has no intention of letting the next couple of months play out in a haze of self-satisfaction.
‘I think, externally, you will know me well enough now that the mantra will always be “next game, next challenge”,’ he continued.
‘We want to add to what we have already achieved. We have got internal targets, we know how we want the rest of the season to look. We have got two incredible fixtures on the horizon in terms of the Europa League.
‘We want to go further than we did last year. We want to build on what we have already achieved in Europe this season, which has been fantastic.
‘Then, obviously, we have got a huge Old Firm game to look forward to and then the Scottish Cup begins and the split games.
‘There are so many exciting games and challenges internally that we want to go and try and achieve.
‘That is the way it is at Rangers. It is not about resting on your laurels and downing tools because you have achieved something so big. It is about going and trying to add to that now and making sure the season is more successful than it is where we are sitting right now.’
Gerrard won every major club prize bar the Premier League during his time as a Liverpool player. The closest he came to that trophy was under Rodgers’ management in 2014, when his infamous slip against Chelsea contributed to a costly defeat during the run-in.
There might be temptation to view his first managerial title as somehow filling a gap from the past. But it is one Gerrard resists.
‘To be honest with you, I haven’t really had time to reflect and really think about the last two or three days and compare it to other achievements in my career,’ he said.
‘I don’t think it is fair to compare achievements. What I achieved as a player was fantastic, of course it was. But I am on a different journey. I am on a different career path. I am at a different club.
‘So it’s not really about me from a personal point of view and me making up for previous highs or lows or comparing stuff.
‘It is about Rangers. It is about achieving our first massive goal together. It is all about the players and supporters for me.
‘As I say, in this position, I am extremely proud of both. First and foremost, the players for doing the majority of the job and doing it in style. But also the backing that we have had since the first day I came in. That’s been incredible as well.’