“I don’t think he’s going to put myself in a position where he goes into a job with his hands tied in terms of the resources.”
Danny Murphy has been speaking about the speculation linking Steven Gerrard with Rangers. Gerrard has reportedly held talks with the Scottish club about becoming their new manager, and more talks are expected this week. The former England captain is currently the U-18 coach with Liverpool but is said to be interested in the role at Rangers.
Murphy played alongside Gerrard for Liverpool between 1997 and 2004 and remains in contact with the 37-year-old. He has said that he spoke to him over the weekend, and his former teammate was happy with how the discussions with Rangers went.
“The truth is there’s nothing definitive. He has had talks and they were positive. I think that’s a good thing for Rangers,” Murphy told TalkSport on Monday morning.
“He’s got more (talks) this week. He’s a really ambitious guy. He always has been from the moment he walked onto the training pitch at Melwood as a young lad. He’s also bright, and I don’t think he’s going to put myself in a position where he goes into a job with his hands tied in terms of the resources he’s got to compete with Brendan. Ironic really isn’t it, that Brendan is at Celtic?”
The former Fulham midfielder said that the stumbling block for Gerrard taking the job relates to questions about Rangers’ resources.
“I think he probably needs more reassurances regarding what they can give him,” Murphy continued.
“The only thing with that is, how do you get concrete reassurances with something like that? I suppose as a football club Rangers can’t be trying to get someone like Steven who is young, hungry and ambitious to go there and try and compete and sell him a dummy. You have to think there’s some credibility in what they’re trying to do. He seemed excited, but without the confirmation of what it actually really entailed.”
The Scottish side lost 5-0 to Celtic on Sunday at Parkhead and had to watch their bitter rivals lift their seventh consecutive league title. Brendan Rodgers’ team are vastly superior to Rangers and are on a much stronger financial footing. It would take an awful lot of investment for Rangers to topple Celtic and Gerrard’s old Liverpool manager Rodgers.
He is right to seek assurances about money to spend on transfers, but surely there are easier managerial jobs for Gerrard to take and begin his career in the dugout. Even for an experienced manager, with money to spend, it would take a miracle for the current Rangers side to genuinely challenge Celtic’s domination.
