The time is not right for Gerrard to walk away from all he has created at Rangers
THIS time last year, as we moved from February into March, it felt like Steven Gerrard and Rangers might well have reached breaking point.
From a position of such promise heading into the winter break, their season had completely imploded.
They lost 1-0 in the Scottish Cup to a Hearts side who ended up being relegated. In the very next game, Rangers lost 1-0 at Ibrox to Hamilton Accies.
Gerrard sounded like a broken man that night at Tynecastle. Those defeats could have been the final straw, with a section of supporters calling for change prior to Covid shutting the whole thing down.
Now, 12 months later, Gerrard is on the brink of winning Rangers’ first league title in a decade. He has destroyed Celtic’s dream of ten-in-a-row. He has made himself a club legend at Ibrox.
Not only that, he has built a team which continues to march on so impressively in Europe. They will fancy their chances of progressing after being drawn against Slavia Prague in the last 16 of the Europa League.
It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that Gerrard was once again heavily linked with the manager’s job at Liverpool in some English newspapers over the weekend.
The Anfield club have been having a really difficult season for a number of reasons. Jurgen Klopp has insisted he won’t quit, but, nevertheless, speculation continues to mount over his future.
The stories over the weekend were linking him with a return home to Germany, taking over as head coach of the national team from Joachim Low after the Euros this summer.
Gerrard would then be lured away from Ibrox to take over from Klopp at Anfield. That’s the theory, at least.
There have been suggestions that the owners of Liverpool have already identified him as their No 1 target, should such a scenario unfold with Klopp.
But I don’t see it being quite as simple as that. For starters, there’s still so much for Gerrard to achieve at Rangers — and so many boxes left to tick.
I don’t believe that simply beating Celtic to win a league title is the end-game for Gerrard. He’ll see the bigger picture and want to achieve more than that.
He has the chance to have a crack at Champions League football next season and to build on the stellar work in the Europa
League over the past three seasons.
He will take Rangers into next season’s Champions League as title winners. The Champions route in the qualifiers is highly favourable and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t reach the group stage.
From there, anything is possible. Given some of the outstanding results they’ve produced in Europe over the past couple of years, who’s to say Gerrard wouldn’t guide Rangers into the last 16 of the Champions League and beyond?
His stock as an excellent young manager would only rise further. He would also have the chance to add to that by potentially securing another league title next season.
If he went to Liverpool, though, it could be an altogether different picture. I know he would obviously back himself to succeed, but Klopp would clearly be a very tough act to follow.
He has won a Champions League and a first Premier League title in 30 years. Even for a Liverpool legend like Gerrard, and with the lure of his boyhood club, those are big boots to fill.
In the football landscape, that’s like trying to take the microphone from Sinatra.
Timing can be everything in football and I fully understand the attraction and the emotional pull Liverpool would have on him, if they were to offer him the job.
But, right now, I’m just not sure the time is right. I believe Gerrard would be better served by staying at Rangers, giving them one more year, and having a crack at the Champions League.
That could really cement his reputation as one of the best young managers in Europe. Whereas if he goes to Liverpool and gets off to a slow start, he could easily be out the door in six months.
Gerrard only needs to look at what happened with his old mate Frank Lampard at Chelsea. Under a transfer embargo, Lampard had a solid first season and got Chelsea into the Champions League.
Then, after ploughing a small fortune into the squad last summer, results took a dip and Lampard lost his job. That’s how quickly it can happen, even to a club legend.
Lampard is the top scorer in Chelsea’s history, but it didn’t matter. You’re not judged on your achievements as a player. Management is a ruthless business, particularly at the top European clubs.
Those clubs can chew you up and spit you out in the blink of an eye. Whereas at Rangers, there’s still a sense of the unknown for Gerrard and a slight sense of unfinished business.
How far can they actually go in Europe? How good can they become? Can they really go and compete against the elite clubs — the likes of a Bayern Munich, a Man City and a PSG?
And, dare I say it, Liverpool. It’ll be fascinating to find out when the Champions League qualifiers come around next season. If Gerrard stays at the helm, anything will be possible.