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The former England midfielder has impressed at Ibrox and now he only needs to win a trophy to put aside the few remaining skeptics.
Since Steven Gerrard retired from professional football in 2016, he has been considered a Liverpool coach on hold.
As Jurgen Klopp leads the Reds ever stronger in Merseyside, that wait will be a long one, yet the way the midfield legend is pushing himself in management suggests that his destiny will one day be fulfilled.
When he assumed command of the Rangers two years after hanging up his boots, his task of preventing Celtic from winning 10 consecutive league titles seemed difficult, if not impossible. The Hoops appeared years ahead of their city rivals as they exercised their muscles in Europe and boasted of a team with the kind of depth and quality that the Gers can only envy.
Sure enough, Parkhead’s team would continue to sweep the national stage in each of the Liverpool legend’s first two seasons under Ibrox. However, the Rangers were steadily getting stronger until a noticeable change in rivalry occurred a year ago.
The Gers’ 2-1 win at Celtic Park on December 29, 2019, the first at home for their great rivals in nearly a decade, proved they were once again a force to be reckoned with.
They may not have been able to maintain that momentum in 2020 – a three-win streak in nine games meant the Hoops were clear at the top of the table when the season was aborted two-thirds from the end, but Gerrard was able to do it. harden your side over the summer to mount a new assault on the Scottish crown while Parkhead’s team remained staunchly inert.
“In two and a half years, I think you will agree with me that things have changed. The squad has grown, we have improved. We have had experiences with the journey we have been taking. We are in a much better place now,” he told the media on Friday.
It is a difficult claim to dispute.
The Rangers’ recovery from the disappointment of 2019-20 has been remarkable, as they have produced the kind of relentless form that was previously the hallmark of their neighbors.
They have lost just four points in their first 21 games of the campaign, racking up a positive goal difference of 51 and conceding just five times.
Critics who suggest that the level of opposition is low may be silenced by the Rangers’ European record; they have accumulated seven victories in nine games, including an excellent knockout victory over Galatasaray. Indeed, Gerrard will feel that his team should set a perfect record, having twice lost a two-goal lead against a very useful Benfica.
He boasted an equally impressive record on the continent last season until he met Bayer Leverkusen in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Celtic may have three games in hand on them, but the huge 16-point gulf between the clubs suggests that the league will indeed end if the East End side loses Saturday’s clash between the two sides at Ibrox.
Gerrard has made the defending champions look distinctly ordinary. While Celtic’s performances have been mediocre this season, especially in Europe, domestically their results have only been made to appear catastrophic through the prism of Rangers excellence.
Neil Lennon’s team, in fact, is racking up points at a faster rate than in the last full season of Brendan Rodgers in charge. During the 2018-19 campaign, the Hoops claimed 2.33 points per game before the split after 33 games. Lennon’s class of 2021 is posting 2.39.
However, Rodgers’ team did not face a Rangers team of this unshakable nature. Following Motherwell 1-0 at home with just over 15 minutes remaining six days before Christmas, a lesser team could have doubled up. However, Gerrard’s men managed a 3-1 victory.
Without playing well, they had sent a message to all of Glasgow that they are a different beast this season. When his total dominance of the title race seemed to be slipping an inch, he was immediately restored.
“We found an answer and a reaction. This was a great test for us and we have passed it with great success. The team did show their bottle, ”Gerrard purred satisfied after the game.
Indeed, the relentless way in which Gerrard’s team is getting results is reminiscent of Jurgen Klopp’s ‘mind monsters’ at Anfield.
Few major doubts still hang over Gerrard. He has shown that he has the tactical knack to take on a variety of opponents and the man-handling skills to deal with even the toughest characters, such as forward Alfredo Morelos.
The only question mark, however, is significant: You haven’t won anything yet.
The Rangers were put in a position to fight for the title before stumbling a year ago, and that has been a common theme under the leadership of the Liverpool legend. When things have really mattered, they have doubled.
Last season, there was a 1-0 League Cup final loss to Celtic, a match in which the Rangers were apparently the better team, but were frustrated by the heroic acts of Fraser Forster. There was also a 1-0 defeat in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals to Hearts, the team that would ultimately be relegated from the Premiership.
“Two seasons without a trophy is a concern,” he admitted. “It’s not what it’s about.”
These concerns have not been completely detached from this term. With Celtic out of the League Cup after a surprising home loss to Ross County, the path was apparently clear to their first silver medal of the Gerrard era. The Rangers, however, were beaten 3-2 by St Mirren in the lower reaches of the table. It ranks as the team’s only loss this season.
“My only little concern is that they’ve screwed up when they got to this stage earlier, but they seem to have a different mindset this time,” former Rangers and Scotland goalkeeper Stewart Kennedy admitted to the Daily entry .
Gerrard, meanwhile, is optimistic about his team’s ability to cope with the pressure.
“Since our Betfred Cup setback, the players have surrendered 12 points out of 12, scored nine goals and conceded one, so our reaction and response has been fantastic. We enter this game with confidence and in a good place, ”he said.
The Rangers will be in an even better place if they test victory in a derby for the second time this season. A 19-point lead would surely be unassailable and would only help confirm Gerrard’s readiness to lead one of England’s best teams.
