Steven Gerrard has remarkable Walter Smith omen on his side ahead of first Rangers game
Steven Gerrard is seemingly on the brink of being announced as Rangers’ next manager after successful talks with Andrew Cavenagh.
A deal for Gerrard to return to Ibrox is all-but agreed, with an announcement possibly arriving as early as Friday.
It marks a swift turnaround given Russell Martin was only sacked by Rangers on Sunday, bringing an end to what was a disastrous tenure.
Gerrard sat down for talks with Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe on Thursday and it seems discussions have now reached a stage in which they are ready to be concluded.
Steven Gerrard’s first Rangers game to be vs Dundee United
The two-week international break has given Rangers chiefs a bit of time to play with, with the Gers not back in action until 18 October.
Dundee United are the visitors to Ibrox that day, and that is a great omen as far as the returning Gerrard is conceded.
That is because the late, great Walter Smith‘s first game in charge of his second spell in January 2007 also came at Ibrox against Dundee United in a thumping 5-0 win.
It goes without saying Gerrard would love a repeat of that scoreline next weekend, assuming everything is in place for him to be in charge for that game.
Two other managers also took charge of their first competitive Rangers games against Dundee United – Willie Waddell in December 1969 and Jock Wallace in November 1983.
Those games ended in a 2-1 win and a 0-0 draw respectively, so Rangers bosses are unbeaten against Dundee United in their first games in charge.
What happened when Rangers thrashed Dundee United 5-0?
Fans were certainly excited to see Smith back in the dugout for that match nearly 20 years ago now.
Kris Boyd, who is never short of a Rangers opinion, was among the goalscorers at Ibrox that day as he netted twice.
| Walter Smith’s first Rangers Spell | Walter Smith’s second Rangers spell | |
| 7 years, 42 days | Time in charge | 4 years, 126 days |
| 379 | Games managed | 245 |
| 248 | Games won | 154 |
| 63 | Games lost | 38 |
| 68 | Games drawn | 53 |
| 65.5 | Win rate % | 62.9 |
Charlie Adam had earlier opened the scoring from 40 yards out, while Chris Burke and captain Barry Ferguson also netted.
Those were different times, of course, but it is now down to Gerrard to bring the feel-good factor back to the Glasgow club.
The only way he will do that is by winning matches, starting with this visit of Dundee United next week.
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