Steven Gerrard opens up on Rangers reign amid title defence run-in
Steven Gerrard has spoken of his respect for Rangers as the latest title race hots up, after his Aston Villa move “came off the back of” last year’s win.
The Villains’ boss lead the Bears to their first title in a decade last season before departing for the Premier League in November, to be replaced by Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The Dutchman has Gers three points behind leaders Celtic heading into the final stretch of the Scottish Premiership defence, and the former boss wants to see them triumph.
The Liverpool legend told MailSport for the Daily Record: “They’re involved in a really exciting title race right now and I’m looking forward to watching it to see how it progresses.
“Obviously, I hope the trophy ends up back at Ibrox.
“It’s different watching it from afar. When you work for Rangers, you get that connection with the supporters.
“The club was good for me. I respect and appreciate that they gave me a big opportunity. The Aston Villa chance came off the back of Rangers so I have nothing but respect for the people there.
“In my final year there, to [go unbeaten], the players showed a high level of consistency under pressure.
“We knew that we couldn’t get it wrong. There was a lot at stake; more than just any normal league campaign.
“So I’m really proud of the achievement and proud of the lads.”
Win – win?
Of course the ex-Light Blues manager has respect for the club and is proud of his players, they achieved something special with last year’s title.
The former England captain seems to be aware of how lucky he was to land such a prominent job as his first senior management role.
He clearly sees the success he had in Glasgow as the catalyst for a step back across the border, and it was.
Fans probably won’t enjoy the fact that their former leader looks back on the club primarily in relation to how it was part of his history rather than vice versa.
But ultimately it doesn’t really matter, as the man who surely has he sights on taking charge at Liverpool one day was unlikely to be at Ibrox forever, and he delivered what they craved.
He is right to be proud of the squad for the unbeaten run that saw them put a halt to Celtic’s consecutive wins at nine.
And the current side have a major job to do to overhaul the Hoops in the league while still producing big results in Europe.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist has identified the key area where the club has been “poor” in recent history.