New man’s tactics: Rock-solid defence and narrow attack

Defending well without defending deep

Steven Gerrard’s stingy defensive metrics, achieved while playing an aggressive and imposing style, were arguably the stand-out feature of his tenure at Rangers. In the two seasons before Gerrard, Rangers finished third, conceding 44 and 50 goals.

In Gerrard’s first two seasons, in which Rangers finished second, he trimmed these numbers down to 27 and 19. Rangers managed to score more goals in his first season while tightening up at the back, although scoring only 64 goals in his second season cost them a title challenge.

It was the title-winning campaign of 2020-21 when Rangers’ defensive stats became noticed across the continent. They conceded just 13 goals in 38 games, keeping 26 clean sheets during an unbeaten season.

A narrow 4-3-3 overwhelming teams

If Rangers’ excellent defensive record bears the hallmarks of Liverpool managers Gerrard

Houllier and Rafael Benitez, Gerrard’s most frequently used shape both in and out of possession gives a nod to Jurgen Klopp.

While Rangers occasionally lined up with two holding midfielders and had the odd flirtation with a back five, they played most of their successful football in a 4-3-3. Steven Davis would operate as a lone holding player or “No 6” with Scott Arfield and Glen Kamara just in front of him on either side.

Full-backs contributing goals and assists

A narrow front three requires adventurous full-backs for width. Fortunately for Gerrard, one of Rangers’ outstanding talents was right-back and captain James Tavernier.

He and left-back Borna Barisic, one of Gerrard’s summer 2018 signings, push forward relentlessly to give Rangers a 2-3-5 shape in possession. Tavernier scored 12 league goals and produced nine assists last season on his way to winning PFA Scotland Player of the Year, while Barisic on the other flank contributed six assists.