I’ll be on the phone to Walter and Souey
SAYS STEVEN GERRARD
“Once I get settled in, I will certainly be leaning on the likes of Walter Smith, Graeme Souness and Graeme Murty, and bending their ears.
“They will probably get sick of the sight of me.
“I have met Walter quite a few times, and he is a top fella, really helpful.
“I haven’t really thought about it in terms of roles, or at what level we want to use him.
“I think we just want to get Walter round the table and have a chat with him to get his thoughts on things – how he saw last season, for example.
“For me, personally, having Walter Smith on board as someone I can bounce things off, one- on- one, someone I get advice from, will certainly be an advantage.
“So I am really looking forward to sitting down with him.
“We will invite him in – but to be fair he doesn’t need an invite to come in!”
The same applies to Souness, who revolutionised Rangers after his arrival at the club in 1986.
“I never got the chance to work with Graeme,” Gerrard continued.
“But I have done a couple of TV appearances and charity events with him, and being a midfielder myself, he is certainly someone who I look up to.
“I have watched lots of videos and DVDs of him playing, and he is someone I still look up to.
“So if I can get his ear as well, it can only help.
“I’m ver y lucky to have the responsibility and get this role so soon. I started my coaching badges in my early 30s, and I’m nearly over the line to become qualified.
“Now it’s just about experience, getting that experience, growing and improving.”
Gerrard’s open- mindedness is reflected in his desire to likewise canvas the opinions of the man whose sacking paved the way to his appointment.
“I haven’t had the chance to speak to Graeme Murty yet, but I will do when the time is right,” said Gerrard.
“I believe he’s having a break at the moment until the academy returns. I don’t see an issue or a problem.”
It has been suggested having a former manager – albeit an interim one – around the place could be a problem, but Gerrard is unfazed.
“It’s a question you’d have to ask Graeme in terms of what he’s thinking. It’s certainly not a problem where I am sitting,” Gerrard insisted.
“We welcome him back in. He’s got a lot to offer.
“I was asked about his position and I was totally fine with that.
“We want to use the ex-managers and players. This club needs to become one, and ex- players and ex-managers are all part of that.”
Arguably more controversially, Gerrard also plans to seek the counsel of a man who made more than 200 appearances for Celtic en route to becoming a Liverpool legend – Sir Kenny Dalglish.
“He is my hero. If you are a young boy, and you grow up supporting Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish is the man,” said Gerrard.
“To my dad, to myself, he is the hero. I am lucky enough to be able to call Kenny a friend. I can call him up any time.
“I know he is a Celtic man, but we are friends and Kenny is that type of man. He is a football man.
“He has given me many bits of advice over the years. He will probably let the phone ring out now! But our relationship is very strong. “Will I call him Sir Kenny?
“Of course. I called him Sir before he got knighted!”
The Liverpool connection is clear, too, in Gerrard’s desire to create a culture at Ibrox similar to that of the legendary Anfield Boot Room where, from the ’ 60s to the ’ 90s, coaches would hatch tactical plots over countless pots of tea.
“The reason I’ve chosen the staff around me is because I know they’ll be a great support for me,” he said.
“Obviously, Gary McAllister gives us that experience and that connection in terms of knowing the Scottish league very well, as well as the area and the demands of the football club.
“Add that to the fact we were very close as team-mates and continued that relationship. I would speak to Gary a couple of times a week, anyway.
“Head of performance, Jordan Milsom, has that seven or eight years’ Premier League experience
Will I call him Sir Kenny? Of course. I called him Sir even before he got knighted!