... AND I’M HERE TO HELP ANY WAY I CAN, CLAIMS RODGERS

BRENDAN RODGERS yesterday insisted that he would be happy to provide cross-Glasgow advice to Steven Gerrard should his former Liverpool captain accept the job of managing Rangers.

The Celtic boss (right) will clinch his second Scottish league title if his team beat Rangers in today’s lunchtime kick-off at Parkhead, a win that would extend the club’s sequence of championship wins to seven-in-a-row. Rangers want Gerrard to be the man to bring a halt to Celtic’s quest to beat the current shared record of nine and are awaiting his answer on whether he wishes to accept his first job in management at the age of 37. While careful to remain respectful to the current Ibrox incumbent Graeme

Murty, Rodgers insists that he will always be there to offer guidance to a man he launched on his coaching pathway during their time together at Anfield.

Rodgers said: ‘I’m tentative of speaking too much on it while Graeme is in the job — I don’t want to dismiss the guy who has been asked to fill in the role. But if Stevie gets the job then, of course, I would give him any advice that he would ever want.

‘It’s about if you are ready but your first job is very important. If Stevie has an opportunity, whether it’s at Rangers or somewhere else, that first job is absolutely vital.’

Gerrard, 37, has been operating as Liverpool’s Under-18s coach for a year but could be fast-tracked into a highprofile job if he accepts the offer made by a Rangers board led by Dave King.

Rodgers was two years younger when he took his first job at Watford but had established a long youth coaching career at Reading and Chelsea before branching out on his own. He later went on to manage Gerrard during his three years in charge at Anfield and, while extravagant in his praise of the former England captain as a midfielder and leader, he offers no predictions on how he will fare on management.

‘It’s always hard to tell but what is clear is that Steven was a world-class player,’ he said. ‘He has been coaching less than a year but I know he has always wanted to manage. He and Kolo (Toure) started their badges when I was there. They started that journey together.’

Rodgers, meanwhile, is set to secure the permanent signature of goalkeeper Scott Bain later this week.

Bain joined Celtic on loan from Dundee in January and has impressed in his four appearances for the club, not least on his debut against Rangers at Ibrox.

He has played the role of back-up since Craig Gordon’s return from injury but is ready to sign a long-term deal to offer competition to the Scotland internationalist.