Ibrox View: Rangers chiefs must show more patience with Gerrard despite Craigan assessment
RANGERS OPINION
We can all agree that it’s been far too long since Rangers consistently lifted silverware.
This past decade has seen some of the most testing times in the club’s history, and it’s been a long, arduous slog for us to even get back to where we are today.
Of course, where we are today still isn’t good enough.
Thirteen points behind Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership, out of the Scottish Cup, and hanging by a thread in the Europa League – even before the Coronavirus pandemic derailed the campaign it looked set to be another barren season in the blue half of Glasgow.
And that has led Stephen Craigan to make a worrying prediction about the Gers manager Steven Gerrard, who recently celebrated his second anniversary in charge at Ibrox.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, he said: “Gerrard will be aware that if he can’t get the trophy cabinet stocked up again then a third anniversary will be unlikely.
“At Ibrox, winning is a necessity. The fans must hope that during this time their manager will be plotting the road back to success. Let’s wait and see if that is the case.”
But while you may be able to see where Craigan is coming from when he claims that Rangers managers are expected to bring glory to the club, we have to hope that Ibrox chiefs show a bit more patience with Gerrard.
The gulf between the Gers and Celtic when he took over was considerable.
Under his tutelage there have been times when it has genuinely looked as if we have the measure of them.
Sure, we’ve fallen away in 2020, but right up until December we matched them stride for stride, and even held the advantage in the title race going into the winter break.
Even Gerrard himself has emphasised that we came “extremely close” to success this year during an interview with talkSPORT (3.30), and on another day we might well have beaten Celtic in the League Cup final back in December.
But if Gerrard is to finally dethrone the Hoops, and then build a legacy in his own right, he will need longer than two seasons.
As Alex Bruce told Ibrox News last week, it would be far more appropriate to judge the ex-Liverpool man after five or six seasons instead of just a couple.
This process is going to take time and patience – if we afford Stevie that, he could do great things.
If we don’t, and if he is ruthlessly axed after another season without silverware next term, we would find ourselves right back at square one.
In other Rangers news, Douglas Park claims £10 million Gers investment gap has been filled.