Steven Gerrard successfully helped Rangers FC win the Scottish League on Sunday (7/3/2021). The blue squad from Glasgow are 20 points clear of arch rivals Celtic with six games remaining.
This title became Steven Gerrard’s first title with Rangers FC after three years of coaching in the Scottish League camp. This was Rangers FC’s first league title in 10 years as well as breaking Celtic’s dominance during that period of time.
Although many say that Steven Gerrard’s achievements are only “limited to the Scottish League”, there are several things that make this league title as proof that Steven Gerrard is not just a coach:
1. Unbeatable throughout the season
Rangers FC only lost eight points throughout the season. The 3-0 win over St Mirren at the weekend was the 28th of just 32 games. Gerrard’s men have also conceded only nine times throughout the season and scored 77 goals.
Rangers FC’s aggregate of goals is +68 even more than the total number of goals scored by each of the other Scottish League contestants so far this season. Rangers FC have also conceded just two goals at Ibrox, their home ground, throughout the season.
2. Gerrard must rebuild the team
BBC Scottish League analyst Tom English describes the difficult job Steven Gerrard faces at Rangers. English says that the manager must not only rebuild the Rangers squad, but also fix the whole club. “It is a very difficult job for a manager who is still new to face the fierce competition in Glasgow. Moreover, Glasgow football is defined by a powerful Celtic team under the tutelage of previous Brendan Rodgers,” he wrote. “However, the club gave him support and slowly but surely he turned the fortunes of the Rangers camp.”
It’s worth bearing in mind that Rangers only returned to the top caste of the Scottish League in 2016-17 after spending the previous four years in the Scottish League’s lower division. That was because the club went bankrupt in early 2012 which caused their membership in the top caste of the Scottish League be revoked. Under new ownership, Rangers have finally started a new adventure in the Scottish League third tier.
3. Turn behind rivals
Rangers to finish third at the end of the 2017-2018 season, the season before Gerrard arrived. They are 12 points adrift of rivals Celtic who eventually won. However, Gerrard managed to bring Rangers to second place in his first full season with 78 points. Gerrard cut shortfall from Celtics to just nine points in one season.
Last season, the Scottish League was forced to stop early due to the corona virus pandemic. League officials finally use points per match as a reference to determine the final position of the standings. Celtic were crowned champions with a record of 2.67 points per game compared to Rangers’ achievement of 2.31 points per game. However, Rangers are now strong champions, leaving Celtic 20 points behind with six games remaining.
4. The most important title for the club
Former Rangers chairman, Dave King, described the achievements of Steven Gerrard and his team as “the most important title in the history of the club.” King is the man who appointed Gerrard as coach in 2018.
“Steven has met his target time to become champion. This is the best thing that could have happened to us. The team has recovered and we are now back stronger,” he said. This title is the 55th league title in the history of the Glasgow blue camp.
5. Becoming the longest coach in Scotland now
Even though he only landed in the Scottish League in 2018, Steven Gerrard is now the longest serving coach in the division out of the 11 other rival coaches. This was confirmed after Derek McInnes left his post at Aberdeen earlier this week. Rival coach, Neil Lennon, left his post twice at the range of time Gerrard took, first at Hibbs and then at Celtic. Gerrard has also expressed his ambition to achieve more success at Rangers FC despite his name having been linked several times with a managerial post at his old club Liverpool.
