Steven Gerrard would be a 'box office' appointment at Rangers, says Alex Rae
Tuesday 1 May 2018 17:03, UK
Alex Rae believes Steven Gerrard would be a "box office" appointment at Rangers and says the club were right to sack Graeme Murty.
The former Liverpool and England captain is expected to continue talks this week with a view to taking over at Ibrox after the club announced the departure of Murty on Tuesday morning following Sunday's 5-0 defeat to Celtic.
Rae, who won a Scottish title and a League Cup during a two-year spell at Ibrox as a player, says Gerrard would bring a "winning mentality" back to the club should he take up the role.
"He's box office. He would bring a level of standard that has been missing in recent years from Rangers that has been diluted," Rae told Sky Sports News. "The winning mentality needs to be brought back here and Steven Gerrard would do that, I'm sure.
"He needs financial backing from the board and he's obviously in a strong position in negotiations at the moment. So he will be looking for assurances if he is looking to take up the post here at Ibrox."
Rae believes Gerrard will need to be backed financially in order to compete with Celtic and to oversee a revamp of the current Rangers squad.
"There will have to be a massive clear out and that costs a lot of money but you also have to attract the right player.
"Steven Gerrard has got plenty of contacts throughout the game and he would need considerable backing, you are talking about tens of millions because the gap is considerable at the moment. Celtic will strengthen again in the summer and so it needs big backing financially from this board."
Rangers released a statement on Tuesday confirming Murty had left his role as manager and Rae backed the board's decision to make a change, with Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson set to take charge for the remaining three games of the season.
"I felt it was the time for a change to be made. There are only three games to go and it looks as if the players are really struggling for confidence at the moment," Rae added. "They really need to get something going in the last three games to try and get that second spot.
"Ideally you would like to bring a new manager in, it would give them time to assess the players but Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson have got the reins for the next three games.
"They will be looking for some sort of bounce, the performances of late haven't been great and the players are struggling for confidence. But you have to be brave to play here at Ibrox, with 50,000 fans demanding a performance here at the weekend against Kilmarnock."
