Stevie-G on life at Rangers.

[Drunk and disorderly. 14,303]

At a guess, the great man (Struth) wouldn’t have been impressed (much) by Steven Gerrard’s Friday night, but the greatest Ibrox icon of them all would be delighted with how his latest successor has approached the job of leading the club back to where it once was; or at least towards that goal.

Really for the first time, Gerrard yesterday spoke about how his personal life has changed since moving to Glasgow and taking on the ever-so-easy task of managing Rangers.

That it’s a 24/7 existence should come as no surprise. That he likes his new home is nice to hear even if you will do well to see one of the most famous faces in Britain wandering the city streets.

Put it this way, he’s not going to be spotted singing karaoke upstairs at the Horseshoe Bar.

When you are manager of Rangers, have a game every few days and also learning on the job, switching off and downtime are difficult. This is why on the flight home from Spain on Thursday night he spent it watching his team’s draw with Villarreal on a laptop.

Gerrard said: “I’m not away from my family. They are down south but I see them a lot. They are up every single weekend and I get down the road at night, sometimes twice a week. Nothing has changed. I am probably seeing more of them now than I did as a player so I’m happy.

“My family life is good. I have no complaints off the pitch. I have settled into Glasgow really well. It’s similar to Liverpool in many ways. I am very happy. There are no issues.

“It’s difficult when there’s not much time between each game. In the international break I switched off for three or four days and it was enough to recharge and freshen up and get ready for the next block.

“But if you’re on a three-hour flight, and I knew I wasn’t going to sleep, I wanted to so get it (watching the game) done, get it out of the way, and maybe I might be able to get a kip this afternoon.

“I’m loving it. I’m absolutely loving it. I’m really lucky to be in this position, to manage this fantastic club. I’m enjoying it, it’s a rollercoaster, and it’s emotional. I wouldn’t change it for anything but it’s full on and it’s difficult to switch off.

“Do I know the job now? No, I am still learning. I will be learning all the time. When you are a player you don’t really appreciate what coaches and managers put into it. You just automatically think the same as a player - that you come in at 9 o’clock then go home at 2 o’clock or something. Managers are 24/7. It doesn’t stop.”

And at that moment his phone went off.

For any Scottish team to return from Spain with a point is a great result and given where Rangers were last season, a 2-2 against Villarreal is superb.

Gerrard admitted that he would have liked more points on the domestic front but that he is delighted with where his brand new team are, especially with how they have performed in Europe.

Rangers are not perfect, the work will be in process for a good time yet, but when your players come back twice against a La Liga side then there is something there to build upon.

Gerrard said: “I was kicking every ball. I kick more balls on the sideline now than I did when I played. That is the buzz, the adrenaline. That’s what I miss as a player, being involved. These players are so lucky to be out there, and to be able to contribute that way.

"My job now is to produce a game-plan and sort of contribute in a different way and I am really enjoying that. Although it doesn’t replace the buzz of being a player.

“It would be disrespectful just to put one word against this team. They have answered a lot of questions from the journey they’ve been on in Europe and they deserve a lot of praise and credit.

“They have definitely got character, that’s something which springs out, especially after going a goal down and then 2-1 behind. A lot of teams would have packed it in or not fancied trying to get back into it so I’m very happy with the character and mentality of the group, but there are still things we need to pick out and learn from.

“We won’t just forget about the result because it was positive, we will analyse and de-brief the game at the right time to try and improve.”

Rangers have been uneven in the Premiership and tomorrow take on St Johnstone, traditionally a tough opponent at Ibrox.

Gerrard admitted: "It will be very different. St Johnstonehave a lot of energy in midfield. I think Villarreal are more technical, with individuals who try and pass through the lines no matter where they are on the pitch.

‘I think at times St Johnstone will go direct into Tony Watt, who is a fantastic target man. They get runners off him and have a lot of energy. They will cross a lot earlier than Villarreal.

"The challenges from Thursday to Sunday are very different. What’s important is that we are in the right frame of mind for whatever challenge is thrown at us.

"To be fair to the players, there are not many times when I can criticise them. They have had pockets when they have maybe come off the gas and switched off. There were 45 minutes against celtic where we stayed in a shell and didn’t believe. There was a little bit of that in the first half against Villarreal.

"But in the main, I think they players have been excellent.”

Whether he will say the same thing about Ms Twain is debatable.

Source: Evening Times.

[eosmhdo 1,879]

A good read that. Delighted the gaffer is as happy and settled with us as we are with him. Good news

 

[born a blue nose 90,674]

right we've goat shinia, mark or fucking lucy saying 2 weans 

who's ms twain 

[Arrowtown Pie 133]

It's still early days for SG but it very much looks like the promise of what we hoped he could bring to the job of managing Rangers - desire, commitment, direction, professionalism and passion - are indeed in evidence.

So very different from the last few years and such a welcome blast of fresh air.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Fucking love this man. 

[Jb85 1,783]

Good read. so lucky to have him here. we're a very good fit.

[Colin Traive 22,685]

Fuck Shania Twain, if he’s not got tickets for The Dan in February, then Gerrard oot

[Thermopylae 15,286]

Tickety boo  ... timothy will be poring over that for evidence that he's hating ever minute of life with the Teds 

[STEPPS BOY 73,669]

Should be sacked for going to see Shania Twain, imo.

[TopCat 4,511]

Great to hear he is loving life at Ibrox.It seems he loves us as much as we love him.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

I love this man.

This is going to be such a special season. Every hating cunt in the land wishing their life away for our demise.

Gerrard has given us back our pride. With him at the helm I take comfort in knowing he wil lead us to glory. 

Thnk you Mr King for bringing this talented genious to God's country.

WATP

[ForeverAndEver 71,304]

31 minutes ago, STEPPS BOY said:

Should be sacked for going to see Shania Twain, imo.

He just wanted to feel like a woman

[Aubie92 1,074]

50 minutes ago, ForeverAndEver said:

He just wanted to feel like a woman

That don't impress me much. 

[KingKirk 25,571]

I love the man and he's the reason I have the passion back for our club. 

[Malvern 11,329]

3 hours ago, ForeverAndEver said:

He just wanted to feel like a woman

Brendan likes man-women.

[Drumloyal 14,887]

3 hours ago, ForeverAndEver said:

He just wanted to feel like a woman

Let's go

 

 

 

 

 

.......girls

 

 

Seriously though, Mr Gerrard just seems to get what being a Ranger entails.  

 

[gsa 3,906]

4 hours ago, STEPPS BOY said:

Should be sacked for going to see Shania Twain, imo.

It's his perogative to have a little fun.