Steven Gerrard’s current struggles at Rangers show exactly why he shouldn’t be an automatic replacement for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Having looked bang in the Scottish Premiership title race back in December, winning away to bitter rivals Celtic, Rangers have fallen off a cliff.
Admittedly, they are still in the Europa League, but they have drifted 13 points behind Celtic after a wretched run of form.
Wednesday’s shock 1-0 defeat at home to struggling Hamilton summed up Rangers’ current malaise, as did their Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Heart last Saturday.
There has almost been an acceptance that Gerrard will eventually be Klopp’s successor at Liverpool, acting as the logical next step in the 39-year-old’s career in football.
Having been an all-time great at Anfield as a player, it would be fitting for him to be the manager there, too, hopefully guiding them to great things.
In an ideal world, this would be the perfect scenario for many, given Gerrard’s legendary status, but he has to get the job on merit.
It is pointless hiring someone for sentimental reasons if he isn’t good enough for the job – just look at Manchester United currently, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to show why he isn’t good enough.
Graeme Souness was a disaster as Reds boss and it would be sad to see Gerrard tarnish his enormous reputation in a similar way.
Bringing in Gerrard could undo all of the incredible work Klopp has done before him, if he was to take over and be out of his depth, so the decision needs to be made with a huge amount of care.
That decision is still a long way away, of course, but it is hard not to monitor Gerrard’s performance all the time. He made a flying start, looking every bit a future Liverpool boss, but this is a tough job and his flaws are already being highlighted.
It must be stressed that the former midfielder is still learning his trade, so going overboard about this current slump might be uncalled for.
It is a reality check, though, going to show that he has a long way to go before he can even think about being Liverpool manager one day.
I would love nothing than Gerrard to replace Klopp and carry on guiding the Reds to trophies, further enhancing his legacy – he is my all-time hero after all – but the thought of him being hired for the wrong reasons is a bleak one.
I would hate for his reputation to be damaged further down the line, having done more than arguably anyone as a player.
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