OLD PAL GERRARD IS INSPIRING ME TO BE A TOP MANAGER

DIRK KUYT has revealed how former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard has inspired him to become a manager.

Kuyt, 38, is expected to be named as Feyenoord’s new boss at the end of the season after a successful stint in charge of the Rotterdam club’s youth team.

And it was Gerrard’s decision to take the plunge in Scotland with Rangers last year that has convinced him to give coaching a crack.

Kuyt (right, with Gerrard and David N’gog) said: “We all choose our own path and on the way you have to find out if you are capable of doing the job.

“When Steven Gerrard had only just become a youth coach at

hit John Arne Riise on the backside with a golf club after a dispute on a night out.

“It made all the headlines, of course, but sometimes things like that can be the trigger for a team process.

“Let’s face it, who scored the goals in the Champions League tie with Barcelona after that? Riise and Bellamy.

“And how did Craig celebrate his goal? With a golf swing in the stadium (left).

“We knocked Barcelona out and from there we went all the way to the final.

“I know that the question being asked when Liverpool travelled to Liverpool we spoke about the road he was going to follow. “Steven was absolutely determined to leave Liverpool for a while. He wanted to develop himself as a manager and coach away from the spotlight of the Premier League. It meant he had to leave England. “Glasgow Rangers is a massive club. It will be Steven’s dream to become Liverpool manager one day. “But to get there he is very much following his own path.” Kuyt is currently taking his UEFA Pro Licence and is looking for an experienced right-hand man to guide him. Former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat is in the frame to follow Kuyt to Feyenoord as a successor to Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Marbella last week was whether the club really needed to go there.

“People said if the players needed a rest then they should stay at home because they didn’t need to spend time in Marbella.

“But a week away is about other things than training.

“Jurgen Klopp wants his team have the energy for great matches and be ready to perform in the Champions League and in the Premier League during the toughest part of the season.

“It is an incredibly exciting period for Liverpool and I totally understand the need to get away from the daily stuff in England.”