Gerrard put the shirt and tie back on Rangers... the club now offers so much to any manager

Van Bronckhorst in line to become new boss as face-to-face talks begin

RANGERS were a long way back when Steven Gerrard was appointed manager in 2018. From the moment he arrived, he’d have heard Celtic fans singing about ten in a row and he should be congratulated for preventing that — and doing so in a bit of style. He imposed himself brilliantly on the club.

Despite the huge expectation from the supporters and the lack of a trophy in his first two seasons, he managed to keep everybody believing.

For me, Gerrard has put the shirt and tie back on the club.

For a few years, Rangers were struggling, going from one bad situation to another. He came in, got what the club was all about and grabbed it, culminating in what happened last season.

It takes a good person and a good manager to do that. People talk about him only winning one in nine, but he got the one that mattered in the eyes of the supporters.

As well as the obvious challenge of taking on Celtic, Stevie also got the importance of the Aberdeenversus-Rangers fixtures and, of course, we met in his very first league game in charge.

We had played Burnley in the Europa League qualifiers on the Thursday night and the game had gone to extra-time at Turf Moor.

I knew the sell-out at Pittodrie, the drama and adrenaline of playing Rangers would help the team.

I made some changes to try and bring in some freshness but it didn’t really work. The ones who’d played on the Thursday looked a bit leggy and we didn’t deliver anything like a performance. Wee Bruce Anderson salvaged a point for us.

Steven made some comments afterwards about his team being a class above us. I thought that was wrong and out of order at the time but I think he recognises that, in that first year, he said a few things he shouldn’t have. And we always moved on quickly.

There was a recognition and a regard for our team. We had cross words a couple of times but behind it all there was far more to our relationship.

We were in touch constantly over those three years by message. Out of all the managers in the Premiership, I felt we enjoyed a very good relationship.

I reached out to him when it was confirmed he had the Aston Villa job and we will keep in touch.

I wasn’t shocked to see him leave. Once Villa showed their interest, I think it would have been a bigger surprise to see him stay.

When you take into consideration his relationship with Christian Purslow, the chance to move closer to family and be back in the Premier League, it all made sense.

It’s a brilliant opportunity. Having played at West Brom, I know the size of that club — they have a huge support and across the Midlands they are everybody’s rivals.

I think he can make good gains pretty quickly. Aston Villa suggested how good they are capable of being last season but they need to find a way to win consistently without Jack Grealish, who was always one of those talismanic players.

And I think he leaves Rangers in a much better position, too. The team he inherited needed real investment just to compete and the board backed Stevie to improve the level of player.

I look at it now and, while you could question whether the players brought in over the summer have strengthened the starting XI, they have certainly strengthened the squad.

The squad he leaves has won a title and is capable of winning this year’s Premiership without any more investment.

There is a lot of scrutiny and talk of how their performances haven’t been at the same level this season but having Ryan Jack and Ryan Kent back will feel like two new signings.

I think the squad is as strong, if not stronger, than last season. The one he inherited wasn’t capable of winning the title but the squad he leaves should do it again this season.

Like every team, there are three or four key players. If the new boss can hang on to them beyond the January window they should be capable of winning the title.

Any manager, including myself, would love that kind of opportunity. But, as I write this, others look to be leading the running, most notably my old teammate Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

I don’t know much about Giovanni (below centre) as a manager other than to say he did well at Feyenoord before moving to China.

As a player, he came in as part of the big investment under Dick Advocaat. He immediately settled into the club and was well received by the players.

His quality was clear. He was very light, there was not a lot of bulk or physicality to him but he had that sharpness and quickness of mind that prevented him being caught on the ball or feeling the weight of heavy tackles.

He was such a smart footballer who always seemed to be a half a step ahead of everybody. That left side of Arthur Numan, Van Bronckhorst and Neil McCann was very strong and had good balance about it.

In the 4-3-3 system that Dick

Advocaat deployed, the onus was on Barry Ferguson as the controller and Giovanni could get forward and was expected to chip in with goals.

He had a sweet left foot, took set-plays and was a very trusted player who was a pleasure to train and play with. He had a fantastic career, moving on to Arsenal and Barcelona and captaining Holland to the World Cup final in 2010.

Rangers were good for him and his development.

Another name mentioned is Rino Gattuso (below left). I absolutely loved Rino and how driven he was.

His background wasn’t privileged so he had to work for everything. At a young age, he decided to come across to Scotland take on that challenge.

It didn’t always go great for him initially but Walter Smith and Archie Knox took a shine to him and loved his competitive nature.

At first he lacked a bit of quality compared to the standard of player around him — you would never have thought he’d go on to have the career he did but he got to that level through dedication and perseverance.

He married Monica, a Scots-Italian girl and even in the short time he was at Rangers his love for the club was clear.

It’s not always that way — players come in and say the right things but he genuinely had an attachment to it.

It’s just a pity he didn’t get a chance to stay at Ibrox for a longer spell. After just a year or two, he was gone.

He has since managed big clubs in AC Milan and Napoli. Watching him on the sidelines he is still that same little competitor. He is barking, growling and kicking every single ball. He manages like he played.

He is both fiery and passionate but you don’t get to play and manage at the level he has without being really smart.

The best managers have that intelligence and he is a serious operator.

Frank Lampard (below right) has come into contention after rejecting the Norwich job, which was a wee bit of a surprise.

There could be a million reasons for that but if it brings him into Rangers’ line of sight you can see merit in that.

I got to know Frank through Jody Morris and we were in touch when Graeme Shinnie went to Derby County and we took Max Lowe to Aberdeen on loan.

Frank would maybe see the sense in coming to Rangers and following a similar pathway to Stevie, albeit with the experience of managing Derby and Chelsea already under his belt.

I do think Rangers can offer so much for any manager. The potential to challenge for trophies every season, European football and 50,000 supporters every second week should be attractive to so many managers.