Yes, it’s a risk, but if anyone has the right attributes, it’s Steven

WATCHING Steven Gerrard being announced as the new manager of Rangers on Friday was a massive moment and I hope a sign of things to come.

I have already texted him my best wishes and I know he is relishing the challenge.

For some time, I have been lamenting that a generation of top-class England internationals from my era were being lost to coaching. And now that Rangers have given Steven a chance and he has taken the leap, I am hoping that more might follow.

I fully understand the need to prove yourself as a coach as opposed to relying on your reputation as player. And you cannot help but respect the careers of modest players, such as Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp, who became great managers. Or someone like Jose Mourinho, who barely played at all.

But the counterpoint to that is the success of Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola. There is no single path to being a top-class manager.

Of course, it is a risk. But I have still been surprised by some of the negativity around Steven’s decision to go to Scotland. People will cite how dominant Celtic are and how Rangers are struggling to get back to that level following their financial liquidation.

But without risk, nothing is achieved in life. Rather, I do think Steven should be commended for going for the job.

He could quite easily be sitting alongside me in the TV studio next season — and there might be one or two fixtures when he finds himself wishing that he was — but he has take a more difficult path.

If he was going to coach, he has to start some time. I am not sure if the perfect opportunity ever turns up. I would rather start in front of 50,000 supporters at home every other week in a city which, like Liverpool, knows the importance of football.

He will have to use all of the charisma he had as a player to its best effect now he is a manager.

Where Steven now needs to show himself is tactically. Clearly, it remains to be seen how he will fare in the heat of battle when he needs to analyse the game and make changes.

But in the way he plays, you can see he has a deep and instinctive understanding of the game, which goes beyond what an average player would possess.

My guess is he will be a 4-3-3 man. Other than for a short period under Roy Evans at Liverpool, he was in a team with a back four.

Likewise, I imagine he will want his team to pass the ball rather than be direct all the time. That is how he has been schooled under Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez and Brendan Rodgers, now his opposite number at Celtic.

He has done all the preparation he can. At some point, the waiting has to stop and you have to step out and make a decisive move.