The art of WINNING
How former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez schooled Gerrard in...
STEVEN GERRARD was lectured in the art of the European victory during a six-year period of his Liverpool career. He explained: ‘Rafa Benitez was the master of defending away in Europe, being hard to play against, then using the power of Anfield whether it be the first or second leg.’
It is clear Gerrard is using lessons learned under the Spanish tactician and Champions League winner to form the template for his bid to reach the Europa League group stages at the first attempt as manager of Rangers.
The Ibrox team have, indeed, been hard to play against on the road as clean sheets in Macedonia, Croatia then Slovenia on Thursday night proved.
And, at home, capacity crowds have helped lift a new-look side over the line as they find their way in European qualifying together en route to the play-off round.
Russian side FC Ufa head for Glasgow to experience that atmosphere this week, with Gerrard confident visitors to Ibrox should again feel some trepidation.
That factor, he believes, is all an inevitable result of his suddenly turning Rangers into an imposing, organised and tactically disciplined outfit for the two-legged ties.
Gerrard will always recall the demands placed on him by Benitez (below) — who guided Liverpool to two Champions League finals — unforgettably winning the first in a comeback from 3-0 down against AC Milan in Istanbul.
Now the Ibrox boss is passing on those expectations to his players in the hope of taking Rangers on a long European run.
‘You try to dig into experiences as a player and of the coaches that you worked under,’ said the Liverpool legend.
‘Individual performances don’t always get you the right result in Europe. It’s about the team, the structure.
‘Rafa was the master at it — and he certainly improved that side of my game massively. He helped me in terms of becoming a better player, tactically. When he first got me, maybe I couldn’t be trusted fully in positional terms.
‘Perhaps I had too much energy and would lose my slot at an important time. Maybe I had too much enthusiasm to go forward and score goals. It could have been a bit of ego.
‘But now, I think the important thing for me was that teams used to fancy playing against Rangers. They would fancy themselves to create and score goals.
‘It was important to try to make teams fear us. So when you come up against Rangers, we’re hard to beat, organised and have players prepared to put bodies on the line to protect the goal.
‘I think we have that at the moment, but it’s important we continue it going forward for every challenge we face.’
Celtic and Hibernian put five goals past a dismal Rangers defence in the final month of last season, leading to Gerrard targeting a summer of specialist work. That task has been executed pleasingly, not only by key defensive recruits Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and Jon Flanagan but grafters throughout his team. ‘It was certainly an area I knew when I came in that I had to address and strengthen, to try to build a strong spine through the team,’ said Gerrard. ‘What we do is try to get a lot of information across to the player. So, as a staff, we try to do a lot of classroom work in terms of organisation and positioning. ‘We have done a lot of individual work and double sessions on that. Fitness is also a big part of it. ‘Covering ground, sliding in, making sure you win your foot race, making sure you gets lots of people pressing together and being compact. There’s lots the players have taken on board. I suppose it’s difficult to put a timescale on it.
‘But in terms of what they have been given so far and how well they have done, then it has surprised me a bit.
‘If you have good players willing to learn and who know what high standards look like, then maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise.
‘Hopefully, we can maybe add one more in that area as well because I do feel we are a bit light, certainly at the heart of our back four.’
To that end, Gerrard has revealed the Rangers board are entirely in tune with his need for further squad strengthening to prevent a potential Euro campaign damaging domestic ambitions.
If they knock out FC Ufa, then handling a frequent Thursday-Sunday match schedules will continue until mid-December.
Gerrard wishes to not only add back-up to the central defensive position, but land Kyle Lafferty to complete his set of strikers, taking his signing streak to 13. ‘I think the board are experienced and wise enough to know that, if we are to get through, the schedule will be tough for another chunk of the season,’ he added. ‘They understand.
‘We’ve presented to them where we feel we’re a little bit short. It’s in the heart of the defence and the forward area.
‘We’re hoping we can get them (new signings) done in time because I’ll then be very confident we have a squad of players to compete and face the challenges ahead.
‘I want European nights back here at Ibrox. The players do. They all mention it when you speak to them.
‘The fans want it, the board want it. It’s my job to try to make that happen. If that’s detrimental to us domestically, we’ll have to wait and see.
‘This is the reason why I want to try to add to the squad, have a squad that is capable of handling the schedule so that I can tweak and make changes and it does not affect that level in terms of performance.’