My time with Brendan and his staff was brief but I know their methods. They leave very little to chance and they are well prepared
SAYS GARY McALLISTER
AN insight into why Brendan Rodgers has been so successful is one thing Rangers will not lack when they seek to break his stranglehold on silverware.
Take Gary McAllister at a starting point. The Ibrox assistant manager received the inside track on Rodgers’ methods during a three-month spell on Liverpool’s coaching staff three years ago. That also brought him into contact with Celtic No2 Chris Davies and head of performance Glen Driscoll, both of whom followed Rodgers north upon his Parkhead appointment in 2016.
The Merseyside links between the two camps do not stop there, of course. Liverpool captain under Rodgers, Steven Gerrard has recruited Ibrox first-team coach Michael Beale, technical coach Tom Culshaw and head of performance Jordan Milsom from his former employers.
Jon Flanagan can also now be added into the mix. One of Gerrard’s seven Rangers signings to date, the 25-year-old full-back played his most impressive football at Anfield during Rodgers’ time in charge.
For McAllister, these ties add another element of intrigue to what already promises to be a fascinating Old Firm scenario.
‘The facts are that I know Brendan and three or four of his staff, who he had there,’ said the former Scotland captain.
‘I know their methods. They leave very little to chance. They are very well prepared.
‘More interestingly, Steven and the guys that he has brought from the academy at Liverpool will probably know them better.
‘My period with Brendan was only brief before Jurgen (Klopp) came in and took over. It’s very interesting. I’m looking forward to it.’
McAllister’s time on Rodgers’ staff came during the unhappy late days of his Liverpool tenure. Yet, just as with Gerrard in May, he did not think twice when the approach was made.
‘Of course I’m grateful to Brendan Rodgers for giving me the opportunity,’ added McAllister, a Liverpool player between 2000 and 2002.
‘There are moments in your footballing life — even beyond playing — that when certain clubs come knocking it’s very difficult to say no.
‘That was one — and this is another. There had been phone calls — about the fact Steven had been approached and what my thinking would be of him going in. I think you can guess the answer — there wasn’t much thinking to be done!
‘I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was shocked but once you break it down then I can see the thought process, and why you would want to bring someone like Steven Gerrard to your club. It’s a no-brainer.’ McAllister brings senior management experience from spells in charge of Coventry City — where he was player-manager — and Leeds United. While that has value, he is also confident Gerrard’s sharp, football-obsessed mind will quickly assess the landscape of his new role.
His presence as a leader is already in place. At the club’s recent training camp in Spain, McAllister watched how the 38-year-old immediately grabbed the attention of the Rangers players. ‘I’ve seen the word respect thrown around and it does mean a lot,’ he said. ‘To go in and hold a room you need to have something — and he’s got it in abundance. ‘You’ve got to realise someone like him captained teams for a very long time at both club and country. So he effectively managed games from where it really matters — on the pitch — and that will stand him in outstanding stead. ‘In this process he’ll be learning right at the coalface. This is where it is. People like Steven Gerrard, you can tell by the way they progressed as players that they pick things up quickly and he’s made for this. ‘Having been in the position of going straight from player to manager, you have this vision of getting to the end product very quickly but it doesn’t quite happen like that.
‘If it does then all the better, but it’s just about ticking the boxes in the things you’re looking to achieve and they start happening.
‘In terms of the players feeding off Steven, I had that feeling from the first time he stood in front of them at the training ground. I have been sat there in the same position when someone new comes into the room.
‘I suppose that’s why he’s asked me to come along. I’ve experienced quite a lot of things and been involved in football since joining Motherwell at 16.’
The reaction made McAllister reflect upon some of the key influences upon his own footballing life.
‘Managers are very key,’ he said. ‘When I was a young boy I was Davie Hay’s first signing as a 16-year-old at Motherwell, followed quickly by Jock Wallace.
‘I suppose when you are that age, and this is like young players at Rangers today, when someone speaks with the authority of a Jock Wallace, about the disciplines and what it takes to become a professional football, then you listen.
‘For these young players at Rangers, using the experiences of Steven and all his team can only make them better.’
The question is how much better? The manner in which Celtic recorded successive routs in key Old Firm games towards the end of last season detailed the scale of the task taken on by Gerrard.
A four-year contract provides evidence of long-term faith. Yet he is shrewd enough to know that patience is a rare commodity at a club of Rangers’ size.
Some have already dismissed the prospect of a rapid turnaround. While a supporter of Gerrard’s appointment, former Celtic striker John Hartson claimed there is not a ‘cat’s chance in hell’ of Rangers catching their rivals.
‘When you look at the numbers I can understand why that can be levelled but, the thing is, we’ve got to really focus on what we’re doing,’ responded McAllister.
‘We know the strengths of the league, we know the weaknesses of the league, the different types of styles in the league. We’ve got to be prepared for every eventuality.
‘We’re aware that on that side of the city, Glasgow Celtic have done brilliantly under Brendan. We’ve got to just go in there and make it more and more competitive.’