The former England captain’s feelings towards the Glasgow side should not be underestimated, according to his assistant at Ibrox
Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister says that the Ibrox club is not simply a stepping stone towards managing Liverpool for Steven Gerrard.
The Reds legend took command of the Gers 18 months ago and has made them credible challengers to Celtic’s domestic title in Scotland.
He was rewarded for his efforts on Friday with a new contract running through until 2024 . Later the same day, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp signed a deal lasting the same duration , leading theorists to suggest that the German’s replacement on Merseyside has already been found.
McAllister, though, says Gerrard’s strength of feeling for Rangers runs deep.
“He’s a loyal man and you can’t underestimate how he feels about the fact that Dave King, the Rangers board and Rangers as a club employed him and gave him his first job after looking after the Under-18s at Liverpool,” he said.
“They took a chance. Now we’re committing to the club and the club have committed to us.
“They’ve made each and every one of us welcome from minute one. The support has been fantastic. It’s been a wee bit easier for me – I’m coming home and have family members here. Other people moving up here have had a lot of support.
“We can feel something special happening. There’s a massive job to be done here.”
Meanwhile, Rangers are looking forward to Monday’s Europa League last-32 draw, in which the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are possible opponents.
“The thought of a glamour tie at Ibrox is pretty mouth-watering but it would be nice to avoid,” he said. “There are teams that you would prefer – and we are not going to name them – to give you a better chance to go into the next round, but whoever we draw, it is an occasion. Ibrox will be jumping.
“Financially we are light years behind all of the English clubs.
“But we have to take confidence from the way we went to Porto and got a result. Over the two legs, we beat them. We went to Rotterdam and got a result and beat Feyenoord over two legs.
At the start of the group, I am sure the Portuguese and the Dutch clubs would think they could beat a Scottish club, so we have to be confident that – whoever we get – they won’t want to come to Ibrox.”
Rangers face Motherwell on Sunday as they seek to keep the pressure up on Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership, in which they trail their rivals by two points.
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