Make no mistake, former Rangers manager Steve Gerrard wanted to leave Glasgow at the first opportunity.
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the Liverpool legend made no secret of that since taking over the reins at Villa Park.
“Secretly behind the scenes, this is where I have always wanted to be,” revealed Gerrard. “I have worked hard to get to this position so I will give it my best shot.”
“This is a level where you need to remain focused from my point of view and to keep demanding standards from players, so we won’t get carried away because we know it can change very quickly.”
The implication is that his former stomping grounds were not up to this high standard. When Gerrard left Ibrox, during the most recent international break, his side were sitting in first in the Premiership. they were also on the cusp of advancing in the Europa League. With new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst in charge, Gers remain four points clear at the top of the table. And the have indeed advanced to the knockout stages of the continent’s second-fiddle competition.
Gio vs Gerrard
However, they fell in the League Cup semi-final to Hibs. Van Bronckhorst petitioned for the job, watching in the stands at Hampden. In the aftermath of that loss, the Dutchman likely saw the “demanding standards” of supporters.
Then again, unlike Gerrard, he also knows just what he is getting into in Scotland. The former midfielder made more than 100 appearances for Rangers between 1998 and 2001. Former U.S. national team stalwart and Ibrox teammate Claudio Reyna named his son after the Dutchman.
And he had a lot more success during his three seasons as a player in Govan. These include two league titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup. That’s more than Gerrard achieved in his three-plus years as manager.
For Gerrard, Ibrox was always going to be a stepping-stone. As is Villa, with Anfield the final desired destination. But before Celtic supporters get self-satisfied here, don’t think Ange Postecoglou views Scotland any differently. Assuming the Aussie continues to trend well at Parkhead (a big assumption, what with Conference League football on the horizon after Christmas and positive, but uninspiring results in the Prem so far) he’ll move on to a bigger stage as well.
By now, that should be no secret to anyone who follows the Scottish game.