Gerrard believes cup success would usher in a bright new era

STEVEN GERRARD believes a Betfred Cup triumph would propel Rangers into a bright new era and wash away the pain he has witnessed on the faces of the club’s supporters.

The former Liverpool and England captain visits Hampden for the first time determined to secure a win over Aberdeen in the second of this afternoon’s semi-finals.

Rangers have not won a major honour since the financial collapse of 2012 and Gerrard admits he could sense the lingering effects of that drought when he accepted the job in the summer.

Asked what lifting the cup might do for Rangers, he responded: ‘We would hope it would be the catalyst for a different era.

‘The club has been fragile in recent years. As soon as I arrived in Glasgow, you could see it in people who work in the environment.

‘I don’t know whether desperation is the right word, but you could see a lot of pain in the faces of the Rangers fans. They are craving good times here and, thankfully, we have had some okay times and some good times so far.

‘We are on the right way, but nothing would be better than winning a semi-final and getting the chance to play in a final.

‘I don’t want to talk about silverware just yet. It is still early. But, hopefully, if we get through this, which will be a tough game for us, then maybe we can start thinking big.’

Since rebooting in the old SFL Third Division, the closest Rangers have come to grasping a trophy was in 2016 when Mark Warburton’s team threw away a 2-1 lead with two late goals that handed Hibernian the Scottish Cup.

Last season witnessed two semi-final defeats, first to Motherwell in the League Cup and then in the form of a 4-0 loss to Celtic in the Scottish Cup.

Not since Walter Smith presided over a title win in 2011 have the Rangers support celebrated tangible success and Gerrard wants to change that.

‘It’s too long, but the circumstances are what they are and what they were before my time,’ he continued. ‘For a set of supporters like this and a club of this size, it is probably too long, yeah.

‘I’m here for the fans. I don’t want to sound cheesy by saying that, but I’ve come to Rangers to win for Rangers.

‘I respect the club and understand the club. My job every single day and every decision I make, and every time I walk through the training ground or the stadium, it’s for Rangers and for the fans to get good times back.

‘When you start something fresh you try to build momentum and togetherness. You try to start a journey.

‘You hope that journey takes you to places you want to get to. Places where the club has belonged many years ago. It’s our job to do that.’

Over the course of a career that yielded 114 international caps and domestic and European honours with Liverpool, there wasn’t much that Gerrard had left to achieve when he hung up his boots in 2016.

Hampden, however, represents fresh territory and he has been well prepped by assistant manager Gary McAllister, a former Scotland captain.

‘I’ve only been to try to get work permits for some of my players but I’ve sneaked into the stadium and had a walk round,’ said Gerrard. ‘I’ve watched many semi-finals, finals and internationals that have been played there but never had the honour myself.

‘Gary has had some experiences there and is always telling us about it, although never the bad ones — it’s always the good ones with him.

‘It will be great to go and coach there and I just hope it’s a successful day for Rangers.’

Gerrard (below) described his side as a ‘class above’ Aberdeen after the teams drew on the opening weekend of the league season.

Rangers played the bulk of that match with 10 men following the dismissal of Alfredo Morelos and, although Gerrard has been less strident in his comments since that afternoon, he maintains his team were better on the day.

‘I said after the game that we performed at a better level than Aberdeen,’ he explained.

‘That opinion doesn’t change, but that is not being disrespectful because we know it’s a tough challenge at the weekend. I wouldn’t say we dominated when Alfredo went off but, in the circumstances, we put in a hell of a performance. Aberdeen had a couple of chances but I don’t think you would have known we were a man down, which is a big compliment to my team. ‘That must give them belief and confidence. They have gone 80/90 per cent of a game against a top team in Aberdeen and gone toe to toe and at times looked better than them.’ Dons boss Derek McInnes cited fatigue in the wake of extra-time at Burnley for his team’s lacklustre showing but today it is Rangers who must cope with the knock-on effects of European football following a 0-0 draw with Spartak Moscow in midweek. ‘We will not mention Thursday, win, lose or draw,’ said Gerrard. ‘We never used it at Pittodrie nor the fact we played 78 minutes with 10 men. We won’t focus on excuses round here. ‘It’s not perfect to have your two strikers out but we still believe we have enough to go and get the job done.’ With Hearts facing Celtic at Murrayfield before attention turns to the south side of Glasgow, Gerrard believes today will showcase the very best of Scottish football. ‘We’ve got there in the end, two fantastic stadiums, four good teams,’ he said. ‘For the sponsors and the neutrals, what a weekend of football. I’m delighted we’re part of it.’