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Charlie Adam gives his verdict on whether Steven Gerrard is the right man for the Rangers job
Charlie Adam has given his verdict on whether Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is the right man for the Ibrox job amid their troubles at domestic level, in conversation with the .
Rangers’ domestic season has collapsed before their very eyes since January, the Ibrox side slipping to 13 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership race due to a number of shock defeats.
Likewise, the Gers’ participation in the Scottish Cup is over following a quarter-final defeat to Hearts at the end of February – potentially paving the way for the Hoops to claim another domestic treble.
While Rangers remain in the Europa League – something their Old Firm rivals can no longer claim – the Light Blues’ downturn in form domestically has rung many alarm bells among those connected with the Ibrox club.
Gerrard has found himself under increasing scrutiny for his side’s collapse and there was speculation that he was considering his future after the Hearts cup defeat.
However, Adam reckons the Liverpool legend will continue in the role in a bid to stop Celtic from winning a tenth consecutive league title.
“There’s always pressure at Rangers, but it gets scrutinised if you lose a game,” the former Rangers midfielder told the . “Since the New Year, the performances have dropped and he knows the levels they’re at are not what they were in the first half of the season.
“I believe he’s the right man for the job. He’s had pressure since he was 18. This isn’t different to him. The only difference is it is in management. He has to pick up his players every week and he’s got to keep going and hoping that the performances will turn.
“He’ll be disappointed. Do I say it is failure? It’s disappointment. When he set out he would probably have thought he’d have won one or two trophies by now but that’s the disappointment he’s got to take as a Rangers manager.
“You’ve got to keep going as long as you can, but as far as he knows and wants to do, he’ll carry on and try and get that trophy. Does it look likely this season? Probably not but then we go again next season and try and stop Celtic winning 10 in a row.”
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A season that begun with so much promise and genuine hopes of Rangers winning title number 55 has fallen to bits in the space of several weeks and Gerrard is now facing the biggest challenge of his fledgling managerial career.
There could yet be a happy ending to Rangers’ season in the form of a good Europa League run, or perhaps even bringing the trophy to Ibrox, but there is no doubt that too many of the Gers players have simply not been consistent – or even good – enough.
Nonetheless, Gerrard isn’t one to walk away from a challenge, and given the lessons learned from the past two seasons, there’s a good chance he will look to rebuild and get things right next summer and beyond – after all, it took Jurgen Klopp a while to win silverware at Anfield amid increasing criticism, and look at him now.