New manager Gerrard says judge me on ability

Liverpool legend describes decision to take high-profile position as no-brainer

Steven Gerrard is confident his ability will outweigh his inexperience as he vowed to meet the challenge of being Rangers manager head on.

The 37-year-old dismissed claims his appointment on a four-year contract was a risk and welcomed the intense pressure that will come with his highprofile introduction to management.

The former Liverpool captain got a “special feeling” when given the chance to speak to Rangers and decided the time was right to quit his role as Anfield Under-18s coach and take a leap of faith.

Gerrard, who confirmed Gary McAllister as his assistant, said: “I have confidence in myself, in my ability.

“I have weighed the gamble up and the risk and I understand other people thinking it is because it is my first job in management, but I have confidence in myself that I can deliver for these supporters.

“That’s the only thing that matters to me: Do I think I can do a good job as the manager of Glasgow Rangers? In my mind, it’s yes.

“I love a challenge. My parents brought me up in life to always front a challenge – if you feel like that challenge is the right one for you, go for it.

“Go and front it up and give it your best shot. That’s exactly what I’m going to do here.

“I have been around a big football club for a long time, I’ve been around big matches, I’ve watched big managers perform and I’ve worked under big managers.

“I can’t do anything about having no experience where I sit right now.

“There’s only one way to go and get experience, and that is to believe in yourself that you have the right characteristics to take the challenge head on.”

Gerrard will take charge on June 1 and will watch from a distance as Rangers battle for second spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership with Aberdeen and Hibernian.

The scale of his task was apparent as Celtic thrashed Gers 5-0 on Sunday to seal a seventh consecutive title but Gerrard appeared to relish the intensity of the rivalry and the demands that will be placed upon him as he goes head to head with his former Anfield boss, Brendan Rodgers.

“Pressure’s not a bad thing for me,” he said.

“I played under pressure, I have lived under pressure since I left school.

“In football, if you are working under pressure you are in a good place.

“Since I stopped playing football, I have missed that pressure of fighting for three points at the weekend.

“Being Rangers manager, I know there will be a lot of scrutiny and pressure but that’s what I love about being involved in football.

“Bring it on. I don’t mind being under intense pressure. I knew that before I decided to be Rangers manager and I’m up for the challenge.”

Gerrard, who brushed off questions about the finances available to him, admitted the opportunity had intrigued him.

He said: “When the call came it was a no-brainer for me. I got a different feeling in my stomach from the previous opportunities I’ve had in terms of being a number one.

“There were a lot of things to think about but from that phone call I got a special feeling and I knew Rangers was for me.

“This opportunity doesn’t come around all the time. Clubs of this size with the stature, history and tradition. “But the key was the opportunity. “I believe I can come in here and improve things and I believe I can make these fans happy.”

Gerrard’s appointment can give Scottish football a new global reach, according to Gers chairman Dave King.

And King cannot think of a bigger name who has been lured north of the border.

“On the flight over here, I was trying to think in Rangers’ recent history or even in Scotland when there has been a bigger signing than Steven Gerrard coming to Rangers and I can’t think of one,” he said.

“What it will do for Rangers and decoratively for Scottish football is that there are an immense amount of Steven Gerrard fans all over the world.

“I come across them in China, Thailand and Indonesia and they will all be keenly watching how Steven Gerrard is doing in his first managerial role.

“I think it’s very good for the club and very good for the profile of Scottish football.”

There has been no shortage of pundits who have been ready to question the wisdom of Gers appointing a rookie boss.

King rejected the notion he was taking another gamble following his failed experiments with Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty as he insisted his new appointment has every other characteristic required to be a top boss.

“As you know we have been very thoughtful and careful while looking for a manager,” he said after finally naming a permanent successor to Caixinha six months after sacking the Portuguese boss.

“It’s taken us months to get to this point when we were under pressure to make an appointment.

“If you look at the deliberations we had around managers there are a lot of boxes that one tries to tick and no one ticks all of the boxes.

“When (director of football) Mark Allen first said to me what about Steven Gerrard as a potential manager, my first thought was clearly that he hadn’t managed before.

“But that is the only box that he didn’t tick. Every other box he did tick.

“Competitive ability, a winner, knows what it takes to win – so he was ticking all the boxes other than experience.

“I was very happy to get someone of Steven’s ability and character and felt that outweighed the inexperience.”

King has perhaps wisely decided against heaping extra pressure on Gerrard by declaring a title push is a must for next term.

Instead he has set more modest targets, saying: “The target is to win games. We haven’t won enough games this year that we could have won.

“It comes down to individual games. If we start winning games then the titles will look after themselves.”

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes even Celtic fans will be wowed by Gerrard’s appointment.

He told Liverpoolfc.com: “I’m pretty sure Celtic supporters don’t think, ‘Thank God, Steven Gerrard’. They think, ‘Wow, Steven Gerrard’. That can always be a sign.

“Stevie is one of the best midfielders ever. Now he wants to be a manager. He has the passion and the knowledge about football. All the rest is to learn.”