The former Reds captain has revealed that the Premier League title-chasing boss at Anfield advised him to start at the bottom of a management ladder
Steven Gerrard has revealed that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp advised him to start at the bottom in coaching circles and “get it horribly, wildly wrong”.
The former Reds captain took the decision to pass on his wealth of experience when bringing his glittering playing career to a close.
His standing as a modern day great would have made it easy for him to walk straight into a high-profile post.
Gerrard was, however, to cut his teeth within the academy ranks at Anfield.
From there he landed a job at Old Firm giants Rangers in 2018, with the words of Klopp having been heeded as he sought to edge his way up the ladder.
Gerrard told UEFA’s official website of his managerial path: “The best thing I ever did was to go away from the cameras in the beginning.
“I had a real honest and open conversation with Jurgen Klopp for a couple of hours and the advice he gave me was: ‘Don’t go into this as Steven Gerrard with the name on your back.
“Go back to the beginning and strip it back like a car. Get your pitch confidence and get used to tactics and different formations. Try things, make mistakes and get it horribly, wildly wrong.
“Experiment and do all these things away from the camera but before you test yourself in the Europa League, before you test yourself in front of thousands and thousands of fans – put yourself in a better position before you go in there.
“Because I’ve seen tons of footballers with their names on their backs go in there and it doesn’t work.’
“That was the best bit of advice. I don’t think I will ever get a better piece of advice than that. Strip it right back and go back to the beginning.
“I have made mistakes over the last couple of years as Rangers manager but the trick is to learn from them.
“But this is a job where it’s impossible not to make them because you’re up against so many other good coaches.”
Gerrard committed to a new contract at Rangers earlier this season, keeping him in his current role until 2024, but many are already predicting that he will one day return to his roots and inherit the reins surrendered by Klopp at Liverpool.
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