The key Steven Gerrard strength that Rangers gambled on as former director admits 'standards had fallen'

BlueMeanie

Well-Known Member

The Liverpool legend's appointment was a gamble but it's paid off handsomely for the Ibrox club.


Former director Paul Murray has revealed that Rangers took a gamble on Steven Gerrard because they were looking to turn around a fall in "standards" at Ibrox.
The Liverpool legend was appointed in the summer of 2018 despite never having previously been a manager.
It was a high-risk appointment but it's paid off handsomely as Rangers won the Premiership title this season, and earlier than any other side has done across a full campaign.

And one former director believes that correcting a fall in standards around the club has been just as important as tactical acumen.
Murray told The Herald : "I think the key thing, and Dave King and Mark Allen were the two that were running that process most of they time, was that they were looking for attributes.

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"They knew he was a great player but an inexperienced manager but they were looking for attributes as an individual and they were being a born winner, a guy who can carry himself, who would set high standards.

"The standards had fallen at the club and he was going to lead from the front because of his stature and personality and I think Dave and Mark saw those attributes and that was an important thing.


"Steven is a very clever guy, he realised he needed support and he surrounded himself with a really good coaching team.
"I think the combination of his attributes, plus the support mechanisms have really helped him succeed and it has been a team effort.
"We were definitely making progress.
"I don't think anyone expected us to win the league by 20 points but there was definitely a lot of progress being made behind the scenes and you saw in the Old Firm games and in Europe that there was definite progress.

"What was being done behind the scenes was that these building blocks were being put in place quietly, professionally and what you now see is all of that coming to fruition."
 
I think the fall in standards was clear to see. When we were relegated to the third division I think they dropped then and never really recovered. Shysters running the club coupled with multiple managers didn't help matters.
 
He did raise the standards back to where they need to be

You could see the difference in the basics like organisation and fitness levels were much improved very early on in his first season

And even now we've won the league and are unbeaten he isnt settling, hes still pushing the players and raising the bar

Great stuff
 
So true, sometimes we forget about Paul and John Gilligan, but they played their part in our resurgence. Real Rangers men.

I met John Gilligan at the start of last year, a proper nice guy and very humble about his contributions to the club.

We owe these men a great debt.
 
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I met John Gilligan at the start of last year, a proper nice guy and very humble about his contributions to the club.

We owe these men a great debt.
The smile on his face when they emerged from the front doors was massive. I had no idea who he was, but I knew he was absolutely on top of the world that day.

Edit: I hope they are in the directors box on flag day. What a day that will be!
 
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