Credit: Imago and Stick to Football

Richie Mills

Thu 2 April 2026 20:10, UK

Steven Gerrard says he was surprised by the “big jump” in quality when he left Rangers for Aston Villa.

The Liverpool legend took over at Ibrox in 2018, in what was his first senior management role, and led Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title in 2021.

They also had some memorable European runs along the way, before the ex-England international took up the post at Aston Villa later that year.

Even though Villa were 17th in the Premier League, Gerrard remarked that there was a big step up in quality from his time at Rangers, regretting that he left Govan so far.

Going off the back of his comments, the financial divide between Rangers, the Scottish Premiership and the Premier League has only grown, highlighting how the gap in quality may be bigger than ever.

Rangers not given much of a chance vs Premier League

On the latest episode of Stick to Football, Gerrard said: “The level was a big jump, I probably didn’t realise at the time when I made that decision.

“In hindsight again, I would have stayed at Rangers longer, with more experience. So I regret doing it now, sitting here, I didn’t at the time, it was tough.”

Gerrard won 125 out of 193 games at Rangers, but managed just 13 in 40 matches at Villa, with the former midfielder eventually getting sacked as the West Midlands outfit hovered above the relegation zone.

While he was taken aback by the gulf in quality between the two divisions, the numbers paint a brutal reality. For instance, Rangers posted record revenues of £94.1million in their accounts for the year ending May 2025.

His old club, Liverpool, however, generated historic revenues of £703m in that same financial year. In media revenue alone, they brought in £264m.

The Scottish Professional Football League agreed a £150m live broadcast deal with Sky Sports for 2025-29. For the same period, TNT Sports and Sky signed a £6.7billion arrangement in England.

It is simply a numbers game. How can Rangers, Celtic and more compete when they are financially dwarfed by their English neighbours?

And it seems the problem may get worse, not better.

Rangers have more immediate matters to deal with

While the discrepancy in finances between Scottish and English teams is alarming, Rangers have to focus on winning the title now.

Heading into the final stretch of the season, Rangers sit second in the division, just three points off the leaders Hearts.

Rivals Celtic are two points further back after suffering a shock defeat at Dundee United before the international break.

In the coming fortnight, Rangers host Dundee United on Saturday, before travelling to Falkirk eight days later, and can go top before Hearts play their next game.

They still have to contend with the second phase of the league competition, but for the time being, the Gers are in a decent position to win their first league title since 2021.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.