Former player and manager will become Scottish Premiership adversaries next season, as Brendan Rodgers and Steven Gerrard are getting ready to face off in the Old Firm rivalry.
Steven Gerrard will swim in managerial waters for the first time next season as the coach of Rangers FC, formerly known as Glasgow Rangers. His job will be to raise the team’s level to a point where it can compete on a level playing field with Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic, a club that has won the last seven Scottish Premiership titles. Rodgers believes Gerrard will face a new challenge as a manager, the type he didn’t face as a player.
“As a player you are always looking after yourself and making sure that everything was okay. But as a manager you have to look after everything.”
The increased responsibility is certainly something the former Liverpool midfielder will have to adjust to. Being Liverpool’s captain in the past is definitely going to have a positive influence. Being a Liverpool player in general will help Stevie-G cope with the pressure which comes with coaching Glasgow’s pride, a club that’s always expected to challenge for the title, even after bankruptcy and years in Scotland’s lower levels. Liverpool is one of the few clubs in Europe which can prepare you for the type of scrutiny that awaits.
“It is when you have been in and around that pressure, in that environment, then it certainly helps when you go into another pressure situation. That is what can prepare you.”
Rodgers relinquishes the challenge of going head-to-head with a player he used to manage and thinks they’re both in for a fun ride.
“Steven is someone that I know well, and he has decided to take his first steps into management at Rangers, and I’m sure he’ll enjoy the challenge and the test of it all. So, it will be fun.”
All eyes will be on Steven Gerrard. He has taken a huge gamble by beginning in such a tense environment filled with high expectations. Yet, if he succeeds, he immediately becomes one of the most wanted coaches in Europe. Therefore, it’s a gamble worth taking. One thing’s for sure. The games between Celtic and Rangers will have an extra layer of hostility in 2018/19.
