FORMER Celt Alan Thompson insists Rangers are NOT taking a risk on Steven Gerrard.
The Liverpool legend has agreed to become the Ibrox side’s fourth boss in two years as he follows Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and caretaker Graeme Murty.
Ex-Hoops midfielder Thompson, who was also an assistant to Neil Lennon, believes the 37-year-old Kop idol will make a go of his managerial career with the backing of assistant Gary McAllister.
He was involved with Gerrard in one of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England squad and said: “There were some top players uad at the time – Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Wayne Rooney – but even among that quality Stevie still stood out.
“In the training sessions, I’d watch him and think: ‘Wow, I knew he was good, but I didn’t realise he was that good.’
“He was exceptional and just so elegant. Everything he did looked good and he read the game so well that he’d see things before people did them.
“Sometimes you can see it in a player that he’s going to become a manager one day and I saw it in him.
“As captain of Liverpool, he was an inspirational leader, in a similar way to Scott Brown now when you see how he can take a game by the scruff of the neck.
“I’d think Brown will be one in the future to go down that route, as well. I’m sure he’s learning a lot from Brendan Rodgers.
“But Stevie G already has all the attributes to be a top boss.
“So I don’t see this as a gamble for Rangers. I’m sure he’ll have experience around him and he can pick up the phone and speak to Kenny Dalglish or Graeme Souness about any problems he might have.
“Young managers do that, they go to the experienced people who have worked with them. I’ve certainly done it once or twice with Martin O’Neill when we’ve had problems with players.”
