CAPTAIN, LEADER, LEGEND, MANAGER
STEVEN GERRARD followed Jurgen Klopp’s blueprint as he patiently built Rangers – but Aston Villa’s fans are going on a white-knuckle ride.
That’s the view of Alex Mcleish, a man who walked in Gerrard’s shoes in both Glasgow and Birmingham.
He believes Villa’s new boss wants to make a more instant impact at his new club.
The former England international has been in situ at Villa Park for 10 weeks – easing the club’s relegation worries and igniting supporters’ dreams with bold moves for Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne.
Mcleish thinks, unlike at Rangers, Gerrard is a manager in a hurry.
He said: “Steven’s brief at Ibrox had to find a way to challenge Celtic’s superiority – that was his brief – because, when he arrived, Brendan Rodgers was running the show.
“Brendan was cleaning up as far as trophies were concerned. Steven was under pressure to stop that and get Rangers back to the top of the tree again.
“He wasn’t under serious pressure to start with. But he had to deliver over time – and he had good support from the board of directors.
“He has been gracious enough to acknowledge that – but he had to build something.
“It was a couple of years before you could see it was really gathering momentum.
“It’s a bit like – and I know it’s an easy take, but I think the comparison stands up to it – what happened with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
“It took Jurgen a couple of years to
really stamp his mark on things at Anfield, to get in the players he wanted and establish a clear method of play.
“It’s a remarkable coincidence, but it was a similar journey.
“Steven’s final season saw Rangers win the league without losing a game, stopping Celtic from winning 10 in a row.
“That achievement deserves recognition. It doesn’t matter what league you operate in.”
Gerrard was challenged to stop the rot at Villa Park after Dean Smith lost five on the spin – a run which sparked a change in the manager’s chair.
Backed by mega-wealthy owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, he has added playmaker Coutinho on loan from Barcelona and £25million left-back Digne from Everton.
Mcleish believes that the forward momentum and financial backing could see Villa threaten the big boys – if not this season, the next.
He said: “Steven had Gary Mcallister and Michael Beale with him at Rangers – together they carved out a strategy. “And it looks like they are doing similar with Villa.
“At Ibrox, they were very adventurous with their wing-backs, they were encouraged to bomb on and all of a sudden the likes of James Tavernier, for example, was scoring 10 to 12 goals a season.
“The question was whether they could shore up their side. They did. They shut up shop really well. People covered when these lads piled forward, it worked really well.
“They were very fast, very forward-thinking.
“Now, they probably won’t do that
to the same extent at Villa because of the level of their opponents.
“Leave yourself overexposed and you’re going to be in trouble with the quality of player in the Premier League.
“But, from what I’ve seen and what I expect, I don’t think it will be too dissimilar. The difference is that he will be allowed to bring in good players. Dean Smith was well backed.
“And the owners have shown they will do likewise with Steven. It’s all looking very positive for him. As far as the rest of the Premier League are concerned, it’s a dangerous combination.
“Should they be looking over their shoulders?
“Maybe not for the rest of this season, but, given a summer to build and time to implement his own ideas, I’d be thinking they are going to be more than a nuisance to that top six.
“They are ticking a lot of the right boxes at the moment.
“Ambitious owners prepared to spend, a progressive manager with solid assistants and a squad that’s growing in quality.
“With a couple more quality additions, they could be a real handful next season.”