The appointment of Steven Gerrard in the phase of turmoil was a massive gamble taken by the Rangers board. The iconic Liverpool and England midfield star had no previous experience in senior management, and the pressure of expectations was there from the very first day when his appointment was announced during the early days of summer.
But the gamble seems to have paid off so far following an array of new signings. The Gers, under Gerrard, have witnessed a massive upsurge making it to the group stages of Europa League maintaining an unbeaten status from the very first qualifying round. They have played 16 games already but lost only once so far across all competitions and that too against age-old rivals Celtic – the champions who are behind Rangers in league standings upon completion of gameweek 6 of Scottish Premiership.
Gerrard has rediscovered the confidence in the group and injected an exciting brand of football that has mostly been spot on barring a couple of occasions. The identity was missing in past couple of years since Rangers returned to the top tier and the manager would now be demanding a dominating run having succeeded in scripting a marvelous start.
Depth, Diligence and Commitment
Gerrard has banked on a little-known but hard-working group of players who are giving their all on the pitch and playing to restore the lost pride of the famous Glasgow Rangers. There have been significant injury woes, and the gaffer has missed out on some prolific names on important occasions.
But the players introduced as the alternative stepped up sensationally and inspired the team to secure results exhibiting their sheer dedication, commitment and willingness to stake a claim in the manager’s long-term plans. Their attitude has been exemplary even if they lack quality compared to the players Celtic possess in their ranks. This is what matters the most to achieve success, and a revolution at Ibrox is not far away.
Addressing The Weakness and Finding A Solution
The Liverpool great has wrapped up several new resources this summer but prioritised the defensive third that let the Gers down time and again in previous years. He trimmed down the elderly options who failed miserably and injected freshness by acquiring Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Joe Worrall, Jon Flanagan, Borna Barisic and also veteran Allan McGregor in goal along with Gareth McAuley in deep defence. The perfect amalgamation of youthfulness and experience is gradually restoring stability at the back – a concern that has finally been addressed after years of ignoring the problem.
Quick Learning And Successful Implementation
Alfredo Morelos was understandably the first-choice ‘number 9’ as the gaffer preferred to line the Light Blues up in a 4-3-3 pattern from his very first game in charge. This set-up guided him to early success, but the arrival of experienced Kyle Lafferty put Gerrard in a dilemma of whether to field them both or rotate accordingly.
He went for the first option tweaking the formation a bit but saw the duo struggling to build up the desired chemistry. Gerrard, however, took little time to switch to a ‘front three’ versus St. Johnstone on Sunday afternoon which saw them clinching a comprehensive 5-1 triumph. The luxury of a one-sided encounter allowed him to introduce Lafferty as a second-half substitute to combine alongside Morelos and the Northern Irishman put his name in the scoresheet with an elegant finish thanks to Morelos who played his part in the build-up. The experiment is on but not at the expense of results and Gerrard must retain a similar approach that has brought him enormous success in these early months.
