Former Celtic boss, John Barnes, has given his backing to Rangers Manager, Steven Gerrard, even if he fails to stop the Hoops from winning 10-in-a-row.
Writing in his BonusCodeBets blog and reported by The Daily Record, Barnes feels that his fellow Liverpool legend is closing the gap – despite the obvious evidence to the contrary.
So what has Barnes said?
When asked if he believes that Gerrard will get a reprieve if he has another season of failure, he said:
“Yes I do, because of the progress he’s making.
“And they’re getting closer to Celtic. So, let’s say if he doesn’t win the league next year, then he should lose his job, that’s not the case at all, because Rangers shouldn’t win the league next year, because Celtic are still stronger than them.
“So, as long as he keeps making the progress as he has at getting closer to Celtic, I would urge everybody to give him support.
“The Rangers fans, the board, to support it. Because at the moment, Celtic still are stronger, so it’s beyond realistic to expect Steven Gerrard to beat Celtic.
“I’d say, give it time.”
So is Barnes correct?
You would like to think that the former Parkhead supremo is making these comments because he still holds the Hoops close to his heart and after two years has yet to see Gerrard deliver a trophy across the city in Govan.
Regardless of how much the gap may – or may not – have closed, managers of the two Glasgow sides are measured on one metric – silverware, Rangers may have outperformed Celtic in the league cup final last season but there is only one name on the trophy – failure is not an option.
He has two decent Europa League runs to his name but the lack of domestic success he has in the bank will not be enough to save his skin – regardless of his reputation as a player – not that Celtic fans will be bothered, of course, they’ll be quite happy for him to stay indefinitely, as long as their side continues to dominate Scottish football like no team has done before.