GERRARD’S BIGGEST GAMBLE
Should he wait for the Liverpool hotseat while gathering titles at Ibrox — or take another Premier League job now? Ally McCoist knows what he would choose...
IT’S the one question that plenty of Rangers fans will be asking. And only Steven Gerrard can answer. Ally McCoist firmly believes that Gerrard is smart enough and canny enough to make the wise decision.
Yet he’s also aware that no amount of careful planning can completely remove the element of risk — an essential part of football both on and off the field — from the Englishman’s next step.
Adamant that Gerrard has done enough to make himself No1 contender for the Liverpool job, if and when it becomes available, McCoist is aware that any number of lesser Premier League clubs would love to have this particular ‘superstar’ in the technical area.
And he sees absolutely no need for the former Anfield favourite to go in search of a stepping stone en route to his dream job.
‘Steven is now in a position where he has got a big decision to make,’ said McCoist, at Hampden yesterday to promote Premier Sports’ coverage of Sunday’s Scottish Cup Old Firm clash.
‘I hope one day he does manage Liverpool, if that is what he wants. If he wants to manage England, I hope he gets that wish, too.
‘But I think only Steven can answer the question. Going to Crystal Palace or going to Newcastle, is that going to benefit his managerial career now? Or should he stay at Rangers?
‘Only he can make that decision but, whatever decision he makes, it is a gamble. It is all about making decisions and timing is everything, it really is.
‘His stock at this moment in time is extremely high and I wish him well with whatever he wants.
‘I would be surprised if he doesn’t stay at Rangers for the foreseeable future — but, then, I am not in Steven’s shoes.’
Winning the title this year, on top of another impressive European campaign, undoubtedly changes things for Gerrard.
Where once he might have been advised to seek out a Leicester City or even a Newcastle United as an opportunity to enhance his reputation, he would now be the favourite to succeed Jurgen Klopp in any fair fight.
McCoist insists he doesn’t see any reason why the former Liverpool captain couldn’t go straight from Ibrox to Anfield, pointing out: ‘Graeme Souness did it. I don’t see any difference going from Rangers to Liverpool or Crystal Palace to Liverpool or Newcastle to Liverpool. We have been down this road before.
‘I don’t think there is any getting away from it, the quality of the league is far better. But you are not going to manage bigger clubs in the UK than Rangers or Celtic.
‘Brendan Rodgers, what an example Brendan is, and it is an incredible achievement what he is doing at Leicester. He is doing a great job.
‘He came up, did a great job at Celtic, has gone back down, and is top three, top four.
‘I genuinely don’t think it matters to intelligent football people. If you are doing a good job, then that will be taken into account and Steven is doing that. And I just think he is intelligent.
‘The vast majority of time, he thinks about everything he says, he knows what he wants and he has good people around him.
‘I can’t speak for him, but I don’t know if going to Crystal Palace and finishing 15th in the table will get you the Liverpool gig before staying at Rangers and maybe winning the title again or getting a run in the Champions League.
‘I don’t know. But going to Crystal Palace
would be a gamble, I know that.’ That Gerrard has now captured the attention of decision-makers down south is beyond doubt.
‘Well, let’s be honest about it. He is a superstar, isn’t he?,’ said McCoist, who spends much of his time covering Premier League games these days.
‘The profile that he has given Rangers and Scottish football down south, and throughout the world, is absolutely massive.
‘It doesn’t matter if it is Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Stevie McManaman. You see the boys down there and it is the first thing they talk about.
‘They are interested to talk about it, interested to talk about the teams, the managers, the players and that is the kind of profile that someone like Steven Gerrard gives you.
‘I don’t think there is any getting away from it. We are talking about one of the top English midfielders of his generation and he has a global profile.
‘In terms of the interest that is created by Steven being up here and winning the title, the profile of Scottish football has certainly been increased throughout the UK,
Europe and parts of the world because of Steven being here and that can only be a good thing.’
For all the excitement generated by Gerrard’s Rangers team this year, McCoist has mixed feelings about the fact fans haven’t been there to witness the historic title triumph.
As much as he’d have loved to have seen Ibrox packed to the rafters, he believes some in the squad have actually benefited from games being played behind closed doors.
‘My own take is that they’re as patient a Rangers team as I’ve seen in a long time,’ he explained. ‘They’ll get the ball into wide areas and, if they feel it’s not on to cross, they’ll come out and probe down the other side. That’s excellent.
‘I don’t know if, as a centreforward, I could have handled it! But it’s excellent.
‘They’ve been allowed to do it, and rightly so, because it’s been coached into them.
‘But I don’t care what anybody says, there would be an element of the support demanding that the ball gets put into the danger area earlier. I include myself in that, as a football fan. I can be a bit impatient, so I think that Rangers have handled the situation of having no fans as good as, if not better, than anybody.
‘In some ways, it’s a tragedy Rangers fans haven’t been there to see their team in this unbelievable league campaign. But I think the players have handled it well.
‘It’s far easier to play for Rangers or Celtic with no fans there. Listen, Old Firm fans are fanatical. But I think we’re all in agreement that, if you make a bad pass or miss the target with a shot, mistime a tackle, they’re quite quick at letting you know. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that!
‘I just think some of the players at Rangers and Celtic will not be missing that side of it.’
l Ally McCoist was speaking to promote coverage of Rangers v Celtic exclusively live on Premier Sports this weekend. Premier Sports is available on Sky, Virgin TV and the Premier Player. Prices start from £10.99 per month.