Gerrard: I’ll fight to keep Morelos
STEVEN GERRARD last night insisted he is ready to butt heads with everyone — including his own board — at Ibrox to ensure Rangers resist the temptation of cashing in early on Alfredo Morelos.
The 22-year-old Colombian striker came off the bench yesterday to add to a Daniel Candeias opener and set up Scott Arfield for the third goal in the 3-0 home win over Livingston that keeps Gerrard’s side just two points behind leaders Celtic in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
They will have a crack at going top at Tynecastle next Sunday — just hours before Celtic meet Aberdeen in the
STEVEN GERRARD spent a portion of the international break promoting Make Us Dream, the documentary that celebrates his midfield exploits with Liverpool and England. The Rangers boss views the biopic as drawing a line under his playing career but laughs off the suggestion of an eventual sequel based on his managerial exploits.
Gerrard’s documentary was put together by the same producers who charted the lives of Amy Winehouse and Ayrton Senna and the Scouser admits he was drawn in by those previous pieces of work even though he was not convinced he had a comparable narrative.
The tale of the home-grown Merseyside hero who dragged his team to Champions League glory in Istanbul provided fertile material for the filmmakers, who also wove subplots around his decision not to join Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and his ultimate failure to land the Premier League crown he spent his career coveting.
‘I only made the documentary for one reason and that was the people who asked me to do it,’ he said. ‘I’d watched the Amy and Senna documentaries and they’ve gone on to win an Oscar. I was fascinated to see what they could do because I didn’t even know there was a story there.
‘They’ve done a fantastic job and, hopefully, the fans enjoy it but it’s time to move on now. Now it’s out there, my job’s done and it draws a line under my playing career.
‘That was about me as a player. Now I have to go and try to make a name for myself as a manager.’
The next few weeks promise to be long on drama as the season moves into a critical phase.
On Thursday, Rangers re-enter the European fray against group leaders Villarreal at Ibrox. Then commences a hectic December featuring a final Euro tie away to Rapid Vienna in the midst of eight domestic fixtures featuring Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibs (twice) and finally Celtic before the Premiership moves into hibernation mode.
After completing his promotional duties, including a walk on the red carpet with his family at the Liverpool premiere, Gerrard returned to Glasgow and set about steeling his squad for the forthcoming schedule.
Although there were a few players absent from the Hummel training centre on international duty, Gerrard saw something that convinced him his players are ready to step up and meet the upcoming demands head-on.
‘From a football point of view, the break probably came at a bad time for us,’ he added. ‘After a 7-1 win, you want to continue that momentum.
‘We gave the lads some time off and the players who were on international duty have come back in good shape. In terms of training, this has probably been our strongest week as a group since I came here. It’s been brilliant.’
Although Rangers’ domestic form has been mixed, Gerrard’s players have thrived in Europe, sweeping their way through the qualifiers and into contention to qualify for the knock-out phase of the Europa League.
A defeat to Spartak Moscow last time out was the side’s first continental loss of the season and the manager knows Villarreal are similarly equipped to exploit the kind of defending the Russians fed on earlier this month.
‘When you speak to players about coming here, they all want that European stage, that atmosphere, that full house at Ibrox,’ said Gerrard. ‘There’s very few clubs around the world that can provide that atmosphere. We can and we have.
‘Everyone wants to be part of that. In many ways it’s surprised us how the players have thrived on it.
‘Gareth McAuley, Scott Arfield and Allan McGregor aside, we’re quite an inexperienced group. To qualify was a big achievement. We’re playing against Champions League teams in this group and players are stepping up and meeting the challenge.’
That inexperience extends to Gerrard, who is learning about management in a glare of publicity that extends well beyond the flashbulbs of the press who flocked to record his cinematic debut.
‘I’ve done nothing as a manager so far,’ he admitted. ‘It’s over to me and it’s the beginning of a new journey.
‘I’m really enjoying it. It’s a lot more difficult than being a player. It’s more time consuming, that’s for sure.
‘I’m looking forward to the next journey and I’m delighted to be here as manager of this football club. It’s about bringing success back to Rangers after such a long time without.
‘This is a similar club to Liverpool in terms of passion, the demands and expectation. That’s what I missed when I stopped playing.’