Former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan heaps praise on Rangers

Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard

Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has heaped praise on Rangers after their derby win a few days ago.

Rangers managed to beat Celtic 2-1 at Parkhead for the first time in nine years thanks to goals from Katic and Kent.

The Hoops were well clear of Rangers in terms of quality before Steven Gerrard took over at Ibrox. The former Liverpool player has now turned it around for the Gers and they are pushing Celtic for the title this season.

Strachan believes that Gerrard has worked wonders with the Rangers side and they are the Liverpool of the Scottish League right now.

He believes that Gerrard’s setup at Rangers is identical to Klopp’s system at Liverpool. Both managers are using their full-backs as primary playmakers and the switching of play is quite similar as well.

Speaking to the Scottish Sun, he said: “The way Rangers set up is literally Liverpool. You could close your eyes during a Liverpool match, switch channel, open your eyes again and see the same team, but playing in blue. Gerrard has taken a lot from Jurgen Klopp, which is fantastic. All coaches take things from others, and I’ve done the same, having watched Klopp’s sessions a few years ago. The way Gerrard and Gary McAllister have set Rangers up is very clever. When they signed Ryan Kent, most of us were assuming he’d be played as a left winger. Instead, he’s in a Sadio Mane role, as an old-fashioned inside forward, with Joe Aribo on the other side. Like Liverpool, the width comes from the full-backs. It’s a lovely system, as it means you have five players in the centre of the field, which determines you win most of the ball.”

Liverpool have been very successful with this system over the past year and it will be interesting to see if Rangers can win some silverware with the same setup as well.

Currently, they are just two points behind Celtic in the table with a game in hand.

Rangers have shown that they have what it takes to win against the top teams this season. They have done well in the Europa League as well.

However, consistency will be the key to Rangers’ success in the league this season. Last year, they impressed in the big games as well but they failed to deliver consistently against the weaker sides.

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