There’s been a fair bit of talk about Steven Gerrard potentially returning to Rangers, and some of it has centred on claims that Celtic are worried.
That’s all based on the one league title he won during his time in Glasgow, which happened to break up Celtic’s run towards ten-in-a-row.
It was a season unlike any other. Celtic fell apart, and with no fans allowed in stadiums across Scotland, Rangers managed to take advantage. But outside of that campaign, Gerrard didn’t bring much silverware back to Ibrox.
“Listen if you look at the stats everybody keeps talking about Steven,” Grant said. “He did a fantastic job – let me tell you first and foremost.”
Peter Grant didn’t hold back when asked about the growing excitement around Gerrard possibly coming back, and he addressed the situation bluntly.
“But if you look at stats against players like Brendan Rodgers – I think it was 10 games he played against Brendan Rodgers’ teams. Three draws and seven losses so there were no wins in that either.”
Is Steven Gerrard still popular among Rangers fans?
The anticipation around Steven Gerrard’s potential return to Rangers seems hard to understand for supporters who don’t wear blue.
No manager is ever more important than the club itself. Despite the success Michael Beale enjoyed during his first spell as coach under Gerrard at Rangers, things didn’t go well once he took charge on his own later.
Peter Grant pushes back against suggestions Steven Gerrard’s return will have Celtic worried
Peter Grant was asked about the possibility of Steven Gerrard returning to Rangers, and whether that would have any impact on Celtic’s mindset. Paul Cooney suggested that even with Gerrard coming back, the Hoops wouldn’t be fazed.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show [56m 31s], Cooney said: “But for Celtic, I wonder what the effect is going to be of this. And I heard you say in the first hour if it’s Steven Gerrard they’re not going to be quaking in their boots.”
Grant replied: “No, because why would you?” Cooney followed up: “They’re not going to be anyway.”
Grant continued: “At the end of the day you’re going out to play as a football player. I never cared. I couldn’t tell you who the Rangers manager was when I played.
Cooney interjected: “I bet you could have.” Grant clarified: “But I wasn’t being disrespectful. I wasn’t wondering who it was. It was all about… Remember Sooners came and all that? We knew they had top players.“ So at the end of the day we know we have to perform to try and beat them. And we knew that.
Even Tom English isn’t buying the Gerrard/Celtic hype
Celtic fans have listened to Rangers supporters talk up Gerrard for days, forgetting that they were calling for his sacking after Hamilton beat them 1-0 at Ibrox just before the COVID shutdown.
BBC journalist Tom English hasn’t missed that detail. Speaking on BBC Sportsound, he said: “They have a memory of him winning the league, and it was a very impressive league. But there were no fans there, and Celtic were having their own existential crisis at the time under Neil Lennon.
“And Rangers ran away with the league and didn’t lose a game and then motored through the finishing line. That’s what they remember.
“They don’t remember the bad times under Steven Gerrard. They don’t remember getting knocked out. They won one trophy in his three and a bit seasons.
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“He got knocked out of cups by St Mirren, St Johnstone, Aberdeen and other teams you would maybe expect them to beat. So I think there’s a little rose-tinted glasses being put on when Rangers fans talk about Gerrard.”
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