ON the face of it, the appointment of a rookie coach with just a season at under-18 level under his belt would seem like an almighty gamble for a club like Rangers, who have seemed to stumble from one shambles to another over the past two seasons.

After the disastrous Pedro Caixinha experiment, and Graeme Murty’s unedifying and interminably long public audition for the post, common sense would suggest that a safe pair of hands was the order of the day. 
But as the question was put to Ibrox director of football Mark Allen that the appointment of Steven Gerrard may be seen as something of a risk, he didn’t exactly exude the air of a man who feared he was about to lose his shirt. 

Gerrard may not be long in the dugout, but he ticks every box that Allen set out to fill as he scanned the globe for the next Rangers manager. So, what would he say to those who see the move as a gamble?

“I would say, define gamble,” Allen stated. “When I was looking for a manager there were certain characteristics that I was looking for; leadership, experience of winning and the third thing is being able to cope with adversity. Because we all know it is a tough old world out there, particularly in this neck of the woods. 

“So, when you look at those three attributes and you think: leadership? He ticks that box. Has he got a winning mentality? Well I would think it would be very hard to say that he hasn’t got a winning mentality, and then you look at the adversity. Well I think he has had good and bad times and come through them all. 

“So, from that perspective the gamble part doesn’t really compute with me. It was more the managerial characteristics. And if you look at the surrounding team as well, it is a well -balanced backroom staff. One person’s strength plays off against somebody else’s and different people take different aspects of that. So, I didn’t see it as a gamble, I must be honest. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to bring a top individual to a football club.”    

For all of those qualities that Gerrard possesses though, the first mention of his name in connection with the job raised eyebrows, with many questioning not only the coaching credentials of the former England captain, but the strategy that flipped from targeting Derek McInnes only to move on to Gerrard when that approach flopped. 

Allen is adamant though that there is a grand plan in place, and he revealed that he and Gerrard had found common ground when talking football in his previous role at Manchester City.       

“At our previous clubs we engaged in conversation quite a bit, albeit we were on opposite sides, but we spent a lot of time talking about the game,” he said. “The way we want to play and different attributes. I think it is fair to say we are pretty much aligned. We are there to support each other and work for each other. We have a very, very healthy relationship.”

That symbiotic partnership extends to transfer targets, with Gerrard signing off on the majority of targets that Allen had already placed on his summer shopping list, with both men agreeing on the profile of player that can be successful at Rangers. 

And with the arrival of such a legendary figure in the game as Gerrard at the club, Allen admits his job of landing those targets has become much easier.

“I don’t think you can ignore Steven’s pull,” he said. “It is immense in that respect. He gives that extra credence to what we are trying to do.

“Any fine-tuning of [the target list] has taken place. Once you’ve identified the profile, the player goes into that profile. We are aligned. So, there’s not been anything really changed in terms of where we are, which has made the target list a lot easier. We were already on the same page in terms of the types of players that will be successful here.

“They are players we all believe – he believes, I believe – have got those characteristics which are leadership, winning and can cope.

“All the players that we’re bringing in have had good, bad and indifferent times and we know that they can cope with this. We are quietly confident that the guys will be able to sort of take on board playing for Rangers, will embrace it, want to do it, have the desire to be successful and can’t wait to get going.”

So, it’s in with the new at Rangers, but it hasn’t quite been out with the old. Graeme Murty was at the newly named Hummel Training Centre yesterday, and he remains on staff after his nightmare spell in charge of the first-team at Ibrox last season, resuming his old job in charge of the under-20s.

Many had expected Murty to leave Rangers after his stint in charge ended unceremoniously following the 5-0 defeat to Celtic that sealed the Parkhead club’s seventh Scottish title in a row. 

Allen, however, is delighted that the former Scotland international is remaining at Rangers and says he still has a lot to offer the club. 

“I think it’s great,” Allen said. “Graeme is an excellent coach. So, we are delighted that he’s coming back into the frame. I think he is eagerly awaiting getting cracking again. 

“It gives us immense continuity into the set-up, nothing needs to change, the philosophy etc etc. I think Graeme is looking forward to that with relish.”