Steven Gerrard has arrived at Rangers at a time when they are a distant second to rivals Celtic and are without a league title in eight years. The former Liverpool player has it all to do.
Gerrard’s situation is very similar to the situation facing Graeme Souness when he took over at Ibrox in 1986.
Souness had achieved great success, as a player, with Liverpool and opted to head north of the Scottish border for his first managerial job. In his five years at the club, he led Rangers to three league titles and five league cups before getting the top job at Anfield.
If Gerrard was ever looking for advice on the management game, Souness would be the perfect person to call. The Scot believes Gerrard will have it tougher than he ever did and offers up two main reasons why.
“I had an enormous advantage when I first came to Rangers,” he tells SportsJOE. “I was given a good budget to work it. I met with the chairman and sought assurances that I would get money to get some good players in.
“I was 33 and I had a year or two left in my legs. It was not an impossible task.
“I had this arrogance about me, back then, too. I felt I could challenge Celtic and push them close. I felt that from day one.”
Souness infamously was sent off 34 minutes into his debut as player-manager at Rangers, after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession. Despite that bumpy start, his squad [with England internationals Terry Butcher and Chris Woods brought in] clicked and they claimed the league title in Souness’ first season.
That ensured a direction route into the European Cup and, with English sides banned from Europe after the Heysel disaster, Rangers were able to lure some more England internationals – Trevor Steven, Gary Stevens, Trevor Francis and Ray Wilkins. Souness eased up on the playing duties but did make his 73rd and final appearance for the club in 1990, at the age of 38.
“It is much tougher for Steven,” Souness muses.
“He has nowhere near the budget I had. He has backed himself to go there and do a job. But he could start feeling the pressure soon.
“Back then, you’d get at least a year too. You’d get a chance to prove yourself and put your stamp on a club. Now you are lucky to last a year. In the Premier League, you are lucky to last 10 games.”
Unless he has a dramatic change of heart, Gerrard will not be able to lace up and get out on the pitch to help his new club. Not having the direct influence over events takes some getting used to.
“I had played at the highest level but it didn’t prepare me for management,” Souness admits. “It’s a terrible feeling of responsibility. When you are a player, you often just concerned yourself about how you played.
“It was different once you were manager. You had so many players and staff to look after.”
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To matters more timely, Souness is not on punditry duty for the World Cup but has caught ‘most of the games’ and has found the tournament to be fascinating.
“There is no obvious candidate or favourite,” he says. “England have done very, very well. The opposition has not been great but England have played with a bit of swagger.
“They definitely have a chance, but so do Brazil, Belgium and Spain. Maybe Argentina too, now that they are through, and there could yet be a dark-horse.
“I’m living in England and I’ve never seen the mood as positive as it is right now. This team have been able to get the nation behind them. Your average man on the street will always give them a chance but Gareth Southgate has been able to get the media behind the side too.
“They believe they have a genuine chance. Some may see that as them getting ahead of themselves but that is an English trait. In fairness, it is a Scottish and an Irish trait too. We do get carried away too quickly and we take it badly when we lose. But they have every reason to be optimistic.”
Informed of RTE pundit Eanon Dunphy’s comments on England’s tendency to be ‘a train-wreck’, Souness laughs.
“I’m not sure I’d agree with Eamon on that one. It would have been a train-wreck if England had lost to Tunisia or Panama but they got past them. If they lose to anyone else in the competition, it will be to a team that has reached the knock-out stages.”
*Graeme Souness was in Dublin for the re-brand announcent of TV3 and its’ sister channels to Virgin Media One, Two and Three. A brand new sports channel, Virgin Media Sport, is being announced for Virgin Media customers. The channel will be the home of top class European football and the latest sports news.
