STEVIE GENIUS
Gerrard’s mentality, character and eye for detail provided Gers with foundation for success they have missed for years
SUNDAY MIRROR
MENTALITY. A word often overused in football, but one that should never be understated.
And when asked what Steven Gerrard has brought to Rangers, how they toppled Celtic or why they are now champions of Scotland, it is the thing you go back to.
In a team, mentality is about believing you belong on the same pitch as your closest rivals.
It is about putting your body and mind on the line for a cause. It is about never knowing when you’re beaten.
And when you get into a winning groove, it is about enjoying the smell of it, the feel of it – and relentlessly going after more. Yesterday, they thumped Aberdeen 4-0 at Ibrox before receiving their well-deserved trophy.
But before Gerrard’s arrival, Rangers were devoid of all that.
As a club, it had lost its soul and respectability. And it was difficult to see a way back.
Stopping Celtic’s charge to 10 in a row seemed impossible.
When they were systematically being taken apart in Old Firm games, bludgeoned 4-0, 5-0, 5-1 – even on their own patch – it stripped away any shred of confidence or belief.
But, with a clenched fist and grimace on his face at his Ibrox unveiling, you got the feeling he could regain it.
Gerrard didn’t have any managerial experience when he left Liverpool for Glasgow.
But mentality? Character? He had it in spades.
Firstly, he went about setting standards off the pitch.
Gerrard was instrumental in improvements to the training ground and stadium.
Fine details were key to him. The kit was better, as was the food – the environment was better.
Then it was about the staff he brought with him. He was always going to be the ‘manager’. The guy with the aura, who would stand back at training and only intervene when he had to.
Ask any current player and they will say they have never worked with a better tactical coach than Michael Beale.
The sessions are meticulous, but enjoyable.
Tom Culshaw, a set-piece expert, is largely responsible for the defensive shape that made them recordbreakers there.
And Gary McAllister, a go-between for the squad and Gerrard – and a supporter of the club, who knows what it stands for. Then he needed a system and style of play that players wanted to buy into. Again, Beale was vital in that.
Once all that was in place, it was about one thing. Mentality.
In Russia, a huge obstacle was scaled against FC Ufa.
With just nine men on the pitch, they defied the odds to progress to the Europa League group stages.
That win – and the resilience they showed to get it – should never be forgotten when assessing Gerrard’s progress as a manager or Rangers’ as a team.
The first victory over Celtic in December 2018 was also another big psychological barrier overcome. Of course, there have been setbacks, but that often builds character.
The League Cup defeats at Hampden to Aberdeen and Celtic were painful. But Gerrard learned from them.
The Scottish Cup exit to Hearts last season almost ended him at Rangers.
The months of thinking time during the Covid lockdown helped him. He reassessed, reevaluated and recharged.
The club deserve credit for giving him the time to recover and go again. The recruitment, in the main, has been excellent.
There are now dressingroom pillars in the shape of Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield.
Those are the foundations on which this historic title win have been built.
And now it is Rangers who are inside rivals’ heads – whether at home or in Europe, you get the feeling nothing will faze Gerrard or this team.
People questioned his appointment three years ago. But why when the one thing badly needed was mentality?
They simply could not have chosen anyone better.
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With a clenched fist and grimace on his face at his Ibrox unveiling, you got the feeling Gerrard could regain Gers’ confidence