Kenny Dalglish doesn’t believe close friend Steven Gerrard would return to the Rangers dug-out following his sacking at Aston Villa but insists whoever is in charge when the next transfer window opens will have to drastically improve the squad.
Pressure has been mounting on Giovanni van Bronckhorst following a horror Champions League campaign but it eased slightly due to the thumping 4-1 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday. However, the idea of Gerrard returning has been floated following his departure from Villa Park.
The axe fell on thew Scouser just short of a year of him leaving Govan for the Midlands but Dalglish doesn’t believe the Liverpool and England legend would be up for a return. And he says whoever is in charge must perform surgery on the squad in January. Writing in his column for the Sunday Post, Scotland icon Dalglish said: “It’s even been suggested that some Bluenoses would like to see Steven Gerrard back in charge after he and Aston Villa parted company. That scenario is completely hypothetical, and only Steven would know what he would do if he was ever offered another chance on Glasgow’s south side.
“My personal view is that he wouldn’t go back to Ibrox. The full focus of all Rangers supporters should be on getting behind their manager and the squad. Giovanni deserves to be in the job. The Rangers supporters have been critical of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and the players in recent weeks.
"They found the 4-0 defeat away to Ajax on the opening night and the 7-1 home defeat to Liverpool totally unacceptable. I’ve always said there is a better chance of being successful if there is unity. If you don’t have a togetherness on and off the park, then you will struggle.
“What is going to be interesting – and will have a significant outcome on the rest of the season – is what Rangers do in the January transfer window. Whether it’s Giovanni, or someone else in charge, they will need to find some better quality to improve the squad.
“Because of Champions League qualification, and the sale of Joe Aribo, Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey, significant funds have arrived into the Light Blues’ bank account in recent months. New players have arrived, but too many haven’t managed to hit the required standards. This needs to be addressed, and it will be interesting to see what funds are made available during the next window.”
But regardless of the spending, Dalglish knows Scottish clubs will always find it tough to compete with Europe’s big guns after a disappointing Champions League campaign for both halves of the Old Firm. He said: “That can take tens and tens of millions of pounds. And even then, some of the really top clubs across Europe have spent £30-40 million on a single player and still struggled.
“So while the results for the Old Firm this season have been disappointing, we just need to be mindful that the standard in the Champions League is unforgiving, and there are world-class players all over the tournament. However, we must never believe that our teams can’t compete.
“To be fair to Celtic, they’ve given it a good go, and Ange Postecoglou has every right to be proud of his players for their bravery and desire in all games. They just came up short at vital moments, and we have all seen that you don’t get away with much at that level. But I do believe that the Hoops and Rangers will be better for the experience of the past three months.”
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