Friday 4 May 2018 20:03, UK
Former Liverpool and Rangers boss Graeme Souness believes Steven Gerrard will 'electrify' Rangers, after he signed a four-year deal at Ibrox on Friday.
The former England skipper had been coaching Liverpool's U18s for the past season after ending his playing career with LA Galaxy in 2016, but had been linked with taking charge of Rangers for a number of weeks prior to Graeme Murty's sacking on Tuesday.
Despite having agreed to take over at the Glasgow club, the 37-year-old will not assume his new responsibilities until the summer and will watch the remaining three games of the season from the sidelines.
But Souness, who played for and managed both Liverpool and Rangers in the 1980s and 1990s, believes Gerrard is fortunate to have been headhunted for the role.
"I'm delighted because I'm a Rangers supporter and I'm sure he will electrify the situation up there - we need something," he told Sky Sports News.
"I wish him luck - it's not going to be easy - but he's joining a great club. He's a lucky man, as I was a lucky man, to work for both Liverpool and Rangers, two institutions. He'll realise what passion there is in Glasgow. It's a very special place to work."
With the most recent Scottish Premiership league title coming back in 2011, the managerial position has become a pressurised situation since the club were promoted back to the top flight in 2016 and though Souness has backed Gerrard to succeed, he's highlighted the enormity of the player-manager contrast.
He added: "He'll learn from his mistakes as he goes along and that's how it should be. He's been a top player for a long time; I'm not sure how much that's going to help him going forward in management.
"It's a different job. Ok, you are around the same working environment, but the responsibilities you feel as a manager are enormous. And the bigger the club you are at, the more passionate club you are at, that's where the pressure comes from. You feel responsible to all those supporters."
