Former Rangers player Trevor Francis reckons Steven Gerrard is doing an excellent job at Ibrox and could one day take his place amongst football’s managerial greats.
Francis played under icons like Brian Clough and Graeme Souness so knows a thing or two about what kind of presence is needed in a dressing room to lead clubs to success.
And he reckons Gerrard is destined for the top.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the former England international said:
Steven has the makings of being a top manager. I’ve met him a few times. There aren’t that many former players nowadays that you look up to.
But with Steven, you think, ‘Wow, I’d have loved to play under him.’ He commands respect, He really was a top player and I don’t say that lightly.
He deserves a lot of credit for taking the job at Ibrox because that is not an easy start.
I don’t think anyone in England really understands the pressure you are under at Rangers. In Glasgow, only two football teams exist.
Rangers were considerably adrift of Celtic when he took over and it’s going to be hard to catch them. Celtic are ahead. They are used to winning.
It’s a tough job to try and stop them and I’m not going to predict that 12 months down the line Rangers will be ahead at this stage. But it’s Steven’s first job and he’s doing fine at a huge club.
Ultimately Gerrard’s first season at Rangers will be considered a failure considering we failed to make a cup final, nor push Celtic very close in the Scottish Premiership.
There’s a sense though amongst supporters that this is a long-term project and that the manager will be able to find a more consistent winning blend next season with a summer of stability at Ibrox.
That stability is not something we’ve had at the club for a while now and could be key in pushing for major honours.
Whether Gerrard goes on to become a managerial titan remains to be seen, but I’m backing him to at least improve the Gers in 2019/20.