Steven Gerrard is easy Rangers option to knock 'not brilliant' Celtic off their perch as Liverpool alumni tells him how
Danny Murphy sees the current Rangers squad as 'inept' but doesn't think it would take a miracle to catch their Glasgow rivals
Danny Murphy sees Steven Gerrard as the "easy" option for Rangers to appoint as their new boss - as he's the last man to knock Celtic off their perch.
Gerrard is set for talks with Ibrox chiefs over the next 48 hours as they try to thrash out an agreement that will see him return for a second spell in charge, over three years after leaving for Aston Villa.
With Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises' take over of the club still not yet rubber stamped, the new boss will be up against it time wise if he is to build a team capable of challenge Celtic for the title next season.
Rangers are keen to make an appointment before the end of this week to try and get the ball rolling on pre-season preparations as quickly as possible.
Gerrard stopped Celtic' s march to 10-In-A-Row back in 2021 and they haven't got close to breaking their rivals' dominance since. And that achievement alone makes him an obvious choice as far as Murphy is concerned.
"I am not surprised, because for Rangers, it's an easy option,' he told talkSPORT.
"When was the last time we had success? Who brought it for us? Who was able to knock Celtic off their perch? It was Stevie, wasn't it?!
"There is no guarantee for Rangers, whoever they appoint, they have to do some really cute business in the transfer market, by all accounts, because the squad is inept compared to Celtic's."
As to whether Gerrard can provide a proper challenge to Brendan Rodgers ' all-conquering Celtic side, Murphy isn't sure. But he doesn't think it should be beyond his former Anfield teammate, because he doesn't buy into the hype surrounding the Scottish champions.
"It's hard for me to know, because I haven't watched enough of Celtic or Rangers to see the gap," he added. "I know you can see the table and see the points, and what Rangers need from a player perspective. How his hands are going to be tied or not.
"If Stevie is given a decent budget, and able to bring some players in. They will be competitive. Celtic aren't brilliant, are they? They are a good side. Brendan is good and more experienced."
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
26 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Celtic aiming to oust Euro giants for transfer of 21 y/o 'artist' as ex-Parkhead hero told 'find a new club'
Celtic have been linked with an in demand winger. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Celtic are hoping to beat off competition from a number of clubs on the continent to sign highly-rated youngster Sondre Ørjasæter this summer, with a new report claiming they have opened talks with Sarpsborg 08 over his transfer. The 21-year-old left-winger is believed to be a long term target for Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, with reports in January stating they had a saw a bid of £4.6million rejected by the Eliteserien outfit in January 2025. It is understood the Norwegian side are looking for a fee in the region of £7million to allow him to leave, though. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Linked with Fiorentina, Nice and Red Bull Salzburg, the Norway under-21 international will be in demand this summer after catching the eye of several European clubs over the last 12 months. Used as an inverted winger at the Sarpsborg Stadion, he is considered one of the country's most exciting young talents, with Norwegian TV pundit and former international striker Håvard Flo describing him as 'an artist.' Celtic are believed to be in the market for attacking reinforcements. | AFP via Getty Images Ørjasæter agreed a new four-year-deal at Sarpsborg as recently as October, and seemed delighted to commit his future to the club, saying: 'I'm having a fantastic time. There's nothing to complain about. It's a great group, good coaches. I'm really enjoying myself at Sarpsborg 08.' However, a fresh report from Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claims that Celtic are hoping to prize the winger away from Sarpsborg this summer, saying the Scottish champions have 'reopened talks over a potential deal', adding that they will 'face competition from clubs in Germany and The Netherlands, but no concrete offers are on the table as things stand.' Elsewhere, Celtic's title winner former centre-back Kristoffer Ajer has been told to 'find a new club' by international head coach Stale Solbakken after falling out of favour at Brentford following an injury-hit campaign. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Norway international spent four trophy laden seasons at Celtic Park, winning four Scottish Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups, before he was prized away by the Bees for a fee of £13million in the summer of 2021. He has gone on to be a pivotal figure for Thomas Frank's side as they've established themselves in the top flight, but has found himself restricted to appearances in an unfamiliar position of right-back over the last 12 months, leading for calls from his international manager to switch clubs this summer. 'He can be a very good and stable centre-back, and he was today, but he has to change clubs," said Solbakken. 'He cannot play right-back in every third game if he is to be a proper, safe and good centre-back. Because he has all the prerequisites.' (Photo by) "I think Ajer would have been better suited to playing centre-back in another league. He has had some tough injuries in England. He will never be a super right-back, at the same level as he is as a centre-back. At the age he is now, I think he is allowed to put his foot down. You can't be a 'cover' right-back at his age now. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland fans owe Steve Clarke their support in World Cup qualifying
And the national team manager was once again targeted for vicious abuse from the crowd when his charges were defeated 3-1 by Iceland in their first June friendly match in Glasgow on Friday night. Boyd, who played under the former Newcastle United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa assistant at Kilmarnock, felt for his fellow Ayrshireman as he knows from personal experience how difficult the end-of-season fixtures are to negotiate. Read more: The Sky Sports pundit was pleased to see Scotland beat minnows Liechtenstein 4-0 in Vaduz on Monday evening and is optimistic there will be no lingering ill-feeling when the opening Group C matches against Denmark and Belarus away take place in September. 'In football today, the highs are high, but the lows are becoming lower now than they've ever been,' he said after taking part in a McDonald's Fun Football session with Scottish youngsters at Hampden. 'There's so many people with opinions and the fans have got access to so many social media platforms. So the scrutiny on managers has intensified from my day. There's no getting away from it. 'We have come so far under Steve. Look at where Scotland were when he took over. Yes, we missed out on the last World Cup, but he has taken us to back-to-back Euros. Now we are looking qualifying for the upcoming World Cup, you would expect a little bit of more positivity. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'Steve will know himself the friendly results have not been good enough. But when was the last time we won a friendly at Hampden? I think it was 2016, a long time ago. It puts you under pressure before a ball is kicked. There is less margin for error. 'I've played in the June friendlies. I know they are part of the international fixture list now and I know you have to deal with them. But I think they present problems because of the time they come at. 'Look at the highs that so many players have had this season, look at [Scott] McTominay and [Billy] Gilmour with Napoli and [Lewis] Ferguson with Bologna in Italy, look at [Tony] Ralston at Celtic and [Andy] Robertson at Liverpool A lot of boys in there have lifted trophies. They have to come in off the back of that and perform at a half-empty Hampden. 'Because of where Scotland have been the last few years, people just expect Scotland to rock up and win these games of football. But they're not easy. Could the performance against Iceland have been better? Of course it could. But it's end of a long, hard season.' Read more: Boyd continued, 'Luciano Spalletti was sacked by Italy after a 3-0 defeat to Norway. I think these June fixtures are going to cause managers in international football a lot of problems going forward. 'No disrespect to Iceland and Liechtenstein, but these are two teams we should be beating. If they were in our World Cup qualifying group we would be delighted. But because we performed poorly against Greece and Iceland and lost both games a lot of people were saying, 'We've got the World Cup coming up, we've got to be better than that'. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'But Scotland will be better. The players have achieved a lot of their goals. They've gone to back-to-back Euros. They drew with Portugal and beat Croatia and Poland to get into the Nations League play-offs. They have done really well. But the fans expect now. There have been generations of teams who haven't achieved what they have. But the next step is the World Cup. 'Come the qualifiers, everybody will be ready to go. I'm sure Steve will just be delighted to get through these friendlies. I think Steve and this group deserve everybody to be together when they have a crack at the World Cup qualifiers because they have produced for the country before. They have brought the feelgood factor back. 'Will it end sour? Of course it will. That's part and parcel of football. It always happens. But let's see where these qualifiers take us. I do believe we have got an opportunity of getting to the World Cup.' That campaign will come a little too quickly for the boys and girls who took part in the McDonald's Fun Football sessions at Hampden on Monday – but Boyd is hopeful the long-standing initiative will produce a few more players like Che Adams, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland for Scotland in the years to come. 'Programmes like McDonald's Fun Football are important for communities across Scotland,' he said. 'They give children a safe, positive place to just play the game and have fun. 'McDonald's are offering more free sessions this summer across Scotland and it's brilliant to see. I wish I had this when I was a youngster, I would've loved it. I'd encourage every parent to not miss out and to get their child signed up to their nearest free session.' Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Scotland fans owe Steve Clarke their support in World Cup qualifying
Furious members of the Tartan Army savaged Clarke and his players after they lost 3-0 to Greece in the second leg of the Nations League relegation/promotion play-off at Hampden back in March. And the national team manager was once again targeted for vicious abuse from the crowd when his charges were defeated 3-1 by Iceland in their first June friendly match in Glasgow on Friday night. Boyd, who played under the former Newcastle United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa assistant at Kilmarnock, felt for his fellow Ayrshireman as he knows from personal experience how difficult the end-of-season fixtures are to negotiate. Read more: The Sky Sports pundit was pleased to see Scotland beat minnows Liechtenstein 4-0 in Vaduz on Monday evening and is optimistic there will be no lingering ill-feeling when the opening Group C matches against Denmark and Belarus away take place in September. 'In football today, the highs are high, but the lows are becoming lower now than they've ever been,' he said after taking part in a McDonald's Fun Football session with Scottish youngsters at Hampden. 'There's so many people with opinions and the fans have got access to so many social media platforms. So the scrutiny on managers has intensified from my day. There's no getting away from it. 'We have come so far under Steve. Look at where Scotland were when he took over. Yes, we missed out on the last World Cup, but he has taken us to back-to-back Euros. Now we are looking qualifying for the upcoming World Cup, you would expect a little bit of more positivity. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'Steve will know himself the friendly results have not been good enough. But when was the last time we won a friendly at Hampden? I think it was 2016, a long time ago. It puts you under pressure before a ball is kicked. There is less margin for error. 'I've played in the June friendlies. I know they are part of the international fixture list now and I know you have to deal with them. But I think they present problems because of the time they come at. 'Look at the highs that so many players have had this season, look at [Scott] McTominay and [Billy] Gilmour with Napoli and [Lewis] Ferguson with Bologna in Italy, look at [Tony] Ralston at Celtic and [Andy] Robertson at Liverpool A lot of boys in there have lifted trophies. They have to come in off the back of that and perform at a half-empty Hampden. 'Because of where Scotland have been the last few years, people just expect Scotland to rock up and win these games of football. But they're not easy. Could the performance against Iceland have been better? Of course it could. But it's end of a long, hard season.' Read more: Boyd continued, 'Luciano Spalletti was sacked by Italy after a 3-0 defeat to Norway. I think these June fixtures are going to cause managers in international football a lot of problems going forward. 'No disrespect to Iceland and Liechtenstein, but these are two teams we should be beating. If they were in our World Cup qualifying group we would be delighted. But because we performed poorly against Greece and Iceland and lost both games a lot of people were saying, 'We've got the World Cup coming up, we've got to be better than that'. (Image: SNS/SFA) 'But Scotland will be better. The players have achieved a lot of their goals. They've gone to back-to-back Euros. They drew with Portugal and beat Croatia and Poland to get into the Nations League play-offs. They have done really well. But the fans expect now. There have been generations of teams who haven't achieved what they have. But the next step is the World Cup. 'Come the qualifiers, everybody will be ready to go. I'm sure Steve will just be delighted to get through these friendlies. I think Steve and this group deserve everybody to be together when they have a crack at the World Cup qualifiers because they have produced for the country before. They have brought the feelgood factor back. 'Will it end sour? Of course it will. That's part and parcel of football. It always happens. But let's see where these qualifiers take us. I do believe we have got an opportunity of getting to the World Cup.' That campaign will come a little too quickly for the boys and girls who took part in the McDonald's Fun Football sessions at Hampden on Monday – but Boyd is hopeful the long-standing initiative will produce a few more players like Che Adams, George Hirst and Lawrence Shankland for Scotland in the years to come. 'Programmes like McDonald's Fun Football are important for communities across Scotland,' he said. 'They give children a safe, positive place to just play the game and have fun. 'McDonald's are offering more free sessions this summer across Scotland and it's brilliant to see. I wish I had this when I was a youngster, I would've loved it. I'd encourage every parent to not miss out and to get their child signed up to their nearest free session.' Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald's Fun Football sessions this Summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at
