Oli Holt Article on Our Gaffer

[Clemdog 39,389]

"Nothing will replace leading your home town club out fully but having the opportunity to be successful as Rangers manager, that's the dream for me. It is about giving the supporters the real Rangers back. This is a huge institution with passionate people and I can relate to this club and I have had preparation for this type of intensity and scrutiny and that's why I felt I could come and give it a good shot."

Read more here.

(Or below thanks to Brown Sauce)

[MattyBlue 17,117]

Steven Gerrard has led Rangers to the brink of title glory in Scotland... now, he opens up on his ethos as a boss, taking tips from Fergie and whether he'll succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield

Steven Gerrard is close to ending Celtic's dominance with his rampant Rangers 

The Gers have not lost in the league or Europe all season and have thrilled 

However, Gerrard is remaining grounded despite their huge points advantage

The Liverpool icon thinks about his old club but wants to leave the past behind 

Despite links to his former club, Gerrard is fully focused on the task at Ibrox 

It is the morning after Rangers' 1-0 victory over Hibs last Wednesday night and Steven Gerrard is sitting in the manager's office at the club's training centre north of Glasgow. The victory at Easter Road meant Rangers maintained a 23-point lead over Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership. Celtic's dream of 10 titles in a row is in ruins. Gerrard is on the brink of a great triumph.

Until now, even as Celtic's season has crumbled around them and Rangers have conducted a near-flawless campaign which is yet to see them lose a game in either the league or the Europa League, Gerrard has steadfastly refused to acknowledge he is about to achieve what he came north of border to do back in the summer of 2018 when he arrived at Ibrox to try to revive a club in disarray.

Many said it was a risk. Many said Gerrard was brave. Some said it would be a graveyard for his ambitions and that the managerial career of one of England's greatest players would end before it had begun. Rangers was less a football club at that time and more a black hole. Gerrard has transformed it and in the process he has proved himself as a coach as well as a leader who can inspire the people around him. 

They hold a huge points advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership with fans dreaming

So, surely, it is time. Admit it. The title race is over. It's won. There is to be no catching Rangers now. Their first title since 2011 is just a formality. It is time to celebrate title No 55, right? Gerrard isn't buying it. So he really hasn't let himself believe yet that he's won it? Seriously? There is not even a pause at the other end of the phone line. Not a laugh. Or a chuckle. 'No,' he says.

Not until it's mathematically certain, he says. There are too many ghosts haunting his memories for him to relax now. His was a brilliant playing career but it was pitted with setbacks and disappointments, plenty of lows to go with the highs. Rangers started well last season and then fell away. When he was a Liverpool player, Manchester United were his Celtic and even though others caught them, Gerrard's Liverpool never took the final step.

'I have got too much experience as a player, and in my short time as being a coach, to know that there are still a lot of points to play for,' Gerrard says. 'Football can change at any given moment, we are living during a pandemic and you have got to be respectful to your competition.

'I am really happy with the job we have done so far. I don't want anyone to think I am stupid and that I don't realise where we are but I have got too much experience in the game to get ahead of myself or let this team get ahead of itself. We are new in terms of the group, we are still progressing and trying to get to where we want to get to. In terms of the title, you are not there until you are there.'

Rangers had to grind out their win at Easter Road, Gerrard's 99th victory as their boss, but they played well enough in spells to give some insight into the style and the 4-3-3 formation Gerrard and his assistants, Gary McAllister and the highly-rated Michael Beale, have drilled into the team. In the clever, elusive Finland midfielder Glen Kamara, they had the best player on the pitch.

Ryan Kent is a fine winger. Ryan Jack is an authoritative, assured playmaker. James Tavernier, the skipper, is a superb, attacking right back. Rangers' winning goal, scored by maverick forward Alfredo Morelos, was a lovely example of one-touch football and intelligent movement that was too much for the Hibs defence.
 

Should Gerrard's side maintain this form, they will end the reign of the all-conquering Celtic

But Gerrard is experienced enough to take nothing for granted despite their strong position

The night said plenty about Gerrard the leader, too. He cajoled and encouraged and applauded from the touchline but there were several occasions where he turned away and kicked out at an imaginary object when a pass went astray or a move broke down or a ball was played backwards when he thought it should have been moved swiftly forwards.
 

He sticks up for his team, as well. He will not accept slights or poor treatment. He was annoyed that his players had been forced to change in a makeshift area behind one of the goals at the stadium on cold concrete floors. He did not make a fuss because these are difficult times and clubs everywhere are trying to improvise but he made his displeasure known.

Nor has he lost his interest in the English game. As he was walking between post-match media interviews at Easter Road, a journalist told him that Manchester United were losing to Sheffield United at Old Trafford and his eyes lit up. The next day, he said he had watched the highlights when he got back to his apartment that night.

'United still seem a work in progress,' he says. 'You can see they have made massive strides. Bruno Fernandes has given everyone a massive boost. He has put confidence around the team, a bit similar to the way [Virgil] Van Dijk did at Liverpool. You still look and think they could be a couple of pieces short but they are definitely much further along than where they were a couple of years back.'

Yet the Liverpool icon has transformed the fortunes of this forlorn institution in two years

Gerrard's success at Rangers, the way he has worked with the club's respected Sporting Director, Ross Wilson, the way he has drawn the disparate elements of one of Scotland's great sporting institutions together and turned the club back into a coherent, cohesive entity after so much chaos has won him plenty of plaudits. He sees the big picture. He makes players want to follow him.

Gerrard has moulded Rangers into the dominant force in the Scottish game again and as they have run away with the league this season, it has inevitably led to speculation about him being approached to take over at a Premier League club. The idea that he is destined to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss when both their contracts run out in 2024 is a persistent narrative.

His friend and former Liverpool team-mate, Jamie Carragher, suggested a couple of weeks ago that now would be too early for Gerrard, 40, to take over at Liverpool in the same way he felt Frank Lampard had been pitched in to the job at Chelsea before he had gained enough experience in management. Gerrard did not disagree but that was mainly because he felt the discussion was irrelevant.

Gerrard has turned the club into a cohesive entity after so much chaos in years gone by

There are times when a manager says he is not interested in moving on and you suspect they are being economical with the truth, that they are not saying what they would like to say. It feels different with Gerrard. He hates being apart from his wife, Alex, and their four children, who still live in Merseyside, but his words and his manner suggest he is not impatient to leave Rangers and that his work there is far from being done.

'I always respect Jamie's opinion,' Gerrard says. 'He was a student of the game when he played and he has done ever so well as a pundit. There are tons of opinions out there, some of them are right, some of them are wrong, some of them are nearly right, and I can understand where Jamie is coming from. But you can't predict the future.

'You don't know what is going to happen, you can't predict timing, you have just got to go along and just think about the next day. I am really happy where I am, I'm not looking over the fence, I'm not trying to get down south, I'm here under a strong contract with good support from the board.

The 40-year-old has kept a keen eye on English football but remains fully focused on his job

 

'It comes with its challenges, in terms of the family situation and I am not going to be at Rangers forever. I understand that. I have got dreams of one day going down south and managing teams down there but I am in no rush, I haven't got a date or a time so I haven't really thought too much about what Jamie said in that interview.

'I did see it so maybe his opinion is right but it's not something I have taken too much notice of because I am not looking too far ahead. I'm very focused on the now and trying to stay in the now with Rangers. I get asked that question a lot about Liverpool and I don't really want to get involved with it because it's not something for me to be concerned with.

'They have got a fantastic, world class manager, they are on a real wave of success and as a fan that is an unbelievable place to be in and I am really proud of the club and the efforts of the last couple of years and I'm loving seeing Liverpool where they are right now. I need to focus on the job I'm in now which is a fantastic opportunity for me and a huge job.'

Gerrard is still hungry to learn. He is frustrated that the current travel restrictions have stopped him going to meet other managers from whom he would like to seek advice. He has heard the story about Pep Guardiola travelling to Argentina to talk long into the night with Marcelo Bielsa and he says the list of managers he would travel to meet is 'too long to put in your newspaper'. He has had conversations with Sir Alex Ferguson, he says. He would like to talk to Arsene Wenger. Bielsa fascinates him.

So where does he see his style fitting into the coaches' firmament? Is he a disciple of Bielsaball or Gegenpressing, Parking the Bus or Tiki-taka? 'I don't think you can nail yourself to one philosophy and say "this is the way I want to be" or "this is what I want people to say about my teams from now to the end of my journey in coaching",' he says.

Gerrard is still eager to learn and develop before thinking about returning south of the border

Gerrard has had conversations with legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson

Arsene Wenger is someone Steven Gerrard wants to discuss football with
 

So too is current Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa

 

STEVEN GERRARD ON...

Regrets

Looking back now, I wish I would have signed the final one-year contract I was offered by Liverpool because I would have had the opportunity to maybe have a small period of playing under Jurgen Klopp. 

There is a wee tad of regret - and I say wee because I'm up in Scotland. I had a fantastic journey at Liverpool and the highs that club took me to are memories I will never forget and will always cherish and I think about them every single day. 

At the same time, I had some moments that I have tried to move on from in terms of brutal lows. But I don't want to always talk about the highs and lows. I want to look back on that journey with fondness because I lived my dream and I played for my local team and I achieved things I never dreamt of.

Frank Lampard

Frank was always a support to me when we were playing with England and I tried to be a support to him. We felt it was over the top in terms of the coverage we got about whether we could play together. It was about the structure of the whole team and the way we were asked to play. 

I will always believe I could play with Frank Lampard for England. I enjoyed being on the pitch with him. He was a fantastic footballer. Last week, when he was fired by Chelsea, I was genuinely gutted for him because I want to see all the British coaches do well. 

It has been a topic of conversation in this country for many years, have we got good coaches, do we get fair opportunities? It was just sad that he wasn't given the opportunity to really fight through the tough period that he had because I had confidence that once the players he brought in settled, he could have got through that and really come out the other side. 

I have seen it so many other times with coaches that have had that support. I have had that here at Rangers. You have seen it with other coaches who don't start well and then become a success. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is an example. It took Jurgen Klopp three or four years to become a success at Liverpool even though he was obviously a work in progress and doing extremely well. 

There are many circumstances where clubs reach out and support a young coach through those situations and come through it stronger. I was gutted for him and upset and I just hope that he dusts himself down and goes again. Knowing the player and the ex-team-mate of mine, I've no doubt he'll bounce back.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne said he spoke to me before he decided to take the manager's job at Derby but he's bending the truth a little bit there. He was actually phoning me to talk about players. He called me after his decision was made. 

I'll always be there for Wayne. We're from similar areas and similar upbringings. I've got a lot of respect for Rooney and his family. I think he has got enough experience to make his own decisions. 

He told me he has really got a feeling for Derby, he is enjoying it there with a great set of lads and he is really looking forward to getting started on his journey. 

I wish him all the best because he has got so much to offer, a world-class footballer and the journey he has had. He has got a lot of experience he can offer a team so I hope he sticks with it and does well.

Turning 40 last year

I never counted it because I never got a chance to celebrate so I am still on 39. When we are allowed to have a beer in a pub, I will celebrate my 40th. I am unofficially still 39. Life's good. It's all about family and it's all about Rangers.

The Old Firm vs the Merseyside Derby

It has similarities but when you think about media and build-up and what goes on around an Old Firm, it's a different level. 

The Merseyside derbies were fantastic and were my favourite game as a player. I used to love the intensity of playing at Goodison but when you are in the middle of an Old Firm and you feel the build up and the intensity and the pressure and the responsibility, home or away, it's next level. 

'I don't know what roles I'm going to take during that journey. I am really happy and content in the role I am in now but I am at a club that demands success and entertaining football so you have to adapt and I have had to bring a philosophy here that I think will work for the Rangers supporters and will bring success. That means trying to be a really tough team to play against, an aggressive team in the right way, but also play football at the right times in the right areas of the pitch.

'That is what we have tried to do here. But I might take over a role where maybe you are not one of the favourites in the league and you have to adapt that philosophy. I don't want to nail myself to one sentence that sums up my philosophy. When you talk about Sarri-ball and Bielsaball and Gegenpressing, those are media narratives about their identity. If I end up with an identity like that further on in my career, then great, but for me it's about being able to adapt your philosophy for what's in front of you.'

He has admitted before that he found it hard to say goodbye to his persona as the captain of Liverpool, the club he still adores, and he used his time in Los Angeles playing for the LA Galaxy and his spell at Liverpool's academy to regroup and seek the advice of Klopp and others in the game he respected about exactly what he wanted to do next. He gathered men around him he wanted in his coaching team and when Rangers called two and a half years ago, he was ready.

For now, all eyes remain firmly on the target as Rangers inch closer to an historic title victory

 

'I always knew I wanted this buzz and intensity again in my life,' he says. 'Nothing will ever replace playing for me but this replaces a lot of it. I'm really enjoying this role. I am proud to be the manager. I am thankful for the opportunity and I am enjoying the buzz and the roller coaster that management brings to you.

'I took over this club when it was suffering some really bad results on the back of being out of the league for four years. Managers previous to me had done really good jobs putting things in place to give me a better chance, the likes of Mark Warburton and Pedro. But Ally McCoist is the one for me who really managed the club through some really tough times. When I took over, it was about trying to connect everyone a bit more and give the supporters a team to be proud of.

Nothing will replace leading your home town club out fully but having the opportunity to be successful as Rangers manager, that's the dream for me. It is about giving the supporters the real Rangers back. This is a huge institution with passionate people and I can relate to this club and I have had preparation for this type of intensity and scrutiny and that's why I felt I could come and give it a good shot.'

 

 

[MattyBlue 17,117]

Took me 15 minutes to make my thread and you posted this in the mean time 😂😂

went to a lot of effort adding in the pictures and the bold parts you know 

[Clemdog 39,389]

10 minutes ago, MattyBlue said:

Took me 15 minutes to make my thread and you posted this in the mean time 😂😂

went to a lot of effort adding in the pictures and the bold parts you know 

 

17 minutes after I posted it, you mean?

I've merged the threads and given you a shout out too.

[Ayrblue1 2,042]

The last paragraph man. He totally gets it

[KingKirk 25,647]

The thought of this great man leaving our football club one day makes me sad. 

What he's achieved in 3 years is heroic stuff. 

I love the man. 

He's given us Rangers back. 

[TamCoopz 19,605]

Meh. Neil Lennon gave us Shane Duffy 

[TamCoopz 19,605]

Love you Stevie 💙 x

[The Specky Forum Organiser 64,725]

I cannot wait to be on a bus and sing have you ever seen Gerrard win the league

YES YOU HAVE

[G13 3,038]

4 hours ago, Ayrblue1 said:

The last paragraph man. He totally gets it

He does he really does. He's got the bug that's for sure, always speaks very well in intrrviews. He has restored our pride and will join the list of greats very soon. That's a brilliant piece 👏 

[Heshootshescores 1,904]

5 hours ago, Ayrblue1 said:

The last paragraph man. He totally gets it

He does. From early days it was obvious that he had the knowledge,the passion and the presence to be a successful manager. He was going to be successful somewhere,the question was whether it could happen at Rangers with the finances and hatred and all.

It's been fantastic watching it all come together for him.

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,724]

We all know Steven Gerrard is a legend here now. We're simply waiting for it to become official.

Him, his management team, his players, the investors, us the support. We deserve each other and every success that comes our way.

[Virtuoso 27,180]

Quote

Life's good. It's all about family and it's all about Rangers.

[JamieD 18,948]

Hoping he gets so pished on championship day that he moves his wife and kids up to Scotland and buys a big fucking castle somewhere.

[Sunglasses Ron 2,468]

Brilliant read. How privileged we are to have our manager at this time as unfortunately the clamour for him to head south is only going to increase after 55. For the moment bears enjoy every moment. 

[STEPPS BOY 73,922]

Why does Gerrard looks like he’s sitting in his office, on day of his daughters wedding, waiting for folk to ask him to do them a favour?

[Colin Traive 22,777]

Be interesting to see how Football Focus handle Gerrard’s story once the title is secured.

Ideal article for that show but will Pacific Quay CSC still refuse to send anyone to Ibrox for an interview?

Disgrace that shite hasn’t been sorted out.

Heard last couple of minutes of Liam McLeod commentary yesterday talking about “defeat for the champions” and thought “aye, get as many of them in now while you can, ya bitter wee cunt”

Loving the shock and grieving at that place.

 

[TheFamousPigeon 9,352]

Quote

Life's good. It's all about family and it's all about Rangers.

Says it all. 

[Misteral 2,932]

Really good read. Proud as punch he's our gaffer. 

[Nk89 1,289]

Hope the team start celebrating a bit more when the full time whistle goes and they have the 3 points!! Show us they know how much it means coz we cant be there!

Am sure they will when its tied up tho! 😁

[Clemdog 39,389]

Was out walking the dog and read the paragraph out to my missus that I put in the OP. 

Genuinely choked up - Stevie just gets it. 

[My Fathers Scarf 1,144]

There's been a lot of good positive articles in the Mail over the past couple of months. Brian Laudrup also does a piece now and again. 

[Bakbear 3,586]

It’s a fantastic article and tbh while he is very fortunate to be given the opportunity to manage our great club, I genuinely think he is going to go on to be a top top manager. Like. Alex Ferguson levels. 

I knew Steven Gerrard was a fantastic footballer, I knew he was a winner and I knew Liverpool fans loved him but I didn’t know he is an absolute top human being as well and that they broke the mould with him. He speaks truthfully, purposefully, and passionately. He is knowledgeable and   Authoritative. He takes no shit and demands respect. He is a leader of men of that there is no doubt. 
 

Yes he is lucky to be afforded the opportunity to manage us but we too are lucky to have him and when he eventually leaves it will be a sad day

[Amokachi 3,010]

10 minutes ago, Bakbear said:

It’s a fantastic article and tbh while he is very fortunate to be given the opportunity to manage our great club, I genuinely think he is going to go on to be a top top manager. Like. Alex Ferguson levels. 

I knew Steven Gerrard was a fantastic footballer, I knew he was a winner and I knew Liverpool fans loved him but I didn’t know he is an absolute top human being as well and that they broke the mould with him. He speaks truthfully, purposefully, and passionately. He is knowledgeable and   Authoritative. He takes no shit and demands respect. He is a leader of men of that there is no doubt. 
 

Yes he is lucky to be afforded the opportunity to manage us but we too are lucky to have him and when he eventually leaves it will be a sad day

To use a phrase of his, I hope when he does leave, he leaves us in ‘a good place’.  

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,647]