Gerrard’s sights will be on the EPL... but it won’t be just any job
BEING linked with the Newcastle United job is doing Steven Gerrard no harm. And there was a real playfulness about the Rangers manager as he fielded a post-match query in relation to the St James’ Park vacancy on Thursday night.
The smile on his face suggested he was happy to be asked the ‘silly question’ regarding his future.
I reckon that had everything to do with the Europa League performance his team had just put in against Brondby.
By Gerrard’s own admission, it was a must-win fixture. If they hadn’t beaten the Danes, it would have made the rest of the group almost meaningless.
Rangers dealt with the situation well and I thought he looked pleased and satisfied. I don’t think we’ve seen that from him this season.
I think he has looked frustrated and concerned that his team has not been hitting the heights of last season. He’s also spoken about a lack of investment in the squad.
But the picture has started to change. Rangers are still top of the league, jostling for qualification from the Europa League group and are looking forward to a cup semi-final.
I have been there myself, when there are links with higher jobs and you go into these interviews and press conferences knowing you are going to get asked the question.
You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
You try to be as straightforward and honest as you can. But you can’t be arrogant enough to answer and say you would be interested. You would be setting yourself up for a fall with your own supporters.
I’m sure Steven’s long-term plan is to manage in the Premier League. But he has an attachment to Rangers and it will take something special for that to change.
If he is ever offered a Premier League job, it will be difficult to say no. But it won’t just be any job.
It’s assumed that he ultimately wants the Liverpool job. There is a train of thought that perhaps he could go straight from Ibrox to Anfield. Maybe, but he might have to go to one in between.
I wouldn’t have been surprised had Newcastle shown their hand. They still might and I could see a lot of sense in that. But regardless of their interest, the speculation is a nod that he is doing the right things in his current role.
Steven is well on his way to having a good managerial career and he knows what Rangers can give him, the recognition it can bring.
His name goes before him and he has imposed himself on the club.
He has got Rangers from minute one. He was already a high-profile character and well versed in how to handle the media, his post-match analysis tends to be spot-on and very fair.
People might say he’s only won one trophy in nine but he won the one that mattered.
He could survive losing those first couple of titles.
In his first season he was coming from way back in terms of infrastructure, squad strength and a Celtic team that was powerful under Brendan Rodgers.
Given the transfer backing he enjoyed, he probably should have been closer in year two even before the season was postponed by Covid.
But last season was so important for Rangers, the title that mattered most in the eyes of the supporters.
Maybe there has been a drop-off, a hangover from that success.
But the signs are they are starting to rediscover the things that made them champions.
While they didn’t get a result against Hearts last Saturday I think that performance was good enough for them to win.
And I think Steven would have felt better after that.
He has been without two key players in Ryan Kent and Ryan Jack and the team will be stronger for having those two back.
I expected a wee bit more from Brondby but Rangers were well worth their win — and Joe Aribo, in particular, was outstanding.
John Lundstram, Aribo and
Steven Davis gave them that control in midfield. Lundstram was influential in the first half but Aribo was the stand-out performer.
Celtic too are starting to look more cohesive and, like Gerrard, Ange Postecoglou had a bit of fun in a post-match interview last weekend regarding his team being written out of the title race.
You don’t win titles in October. But, at the same time, it was valid to question Celtic and how they were drifting away from the top of the league.
Rangers were building up a decent lead before the first quarter had been completed.
Celtic hadn’t won away from home domestically since February.
Could they grind it out? It’s not just about using the wide open spaces at Parkhead and the advantage of 60,000 fans at your back. You have to show a different side and the players probably needed those wins as much as the supporters.
They got the monkey off their back against Aberdeen at Pittodrie and it’s no coincidence they then went to Fir Park and did it again.
Postecoglou has spoken about things being a wee bit more settled around his squad. He’s been through the hurry scurry of trying to get players in and then there was a lot of disruption as he tried to integrate players. Like Gerrard, he seems more content and satisfied.
Celtic are looking more settled and the win over Ferencvaros on Tuesday was another building block that keeps them alive in a tough Europa League section.
Perhaps he will go from Ibrox to Anfield, but maybe he will have to go to another club in between