Rangers have had an outstanding season with no league defeats and only nine goals conceded in 32 matches. Obviously it isn’t over yet, but it was only in season 16/17 that Celtic achieved an unbeaten campaign during their run of nine-in-a-row titles.

That was Rangers’ first year back in the top division since being consigned to League Two after going into insolvency in 2012. They didn’t even finish second in the first two seasons back in the Premiership, so that was a sign of the regeneration that was required.

Things had been going wrong with Rangers even prior to being put into administration in February 2012. Having bought the club for £1 from David Murray, I’m sure Craig Whyte must have been aware there were serious matters that needed to be dealt with. In my experience he definitely wasn’t a football man, so his purchase must certainly have been a move towards addressing the problems that existed with a view to selling the club on when the time was right and making a nice profit.

The major tax issue that was potentially detrimental to the club’s future was certainly a matter that needed to be dealt with, but I clearly remember he felt it could be. I rarely met him in my time at the club but on two occasions I asked him if going into administration was a possibility and both times he replied it wasn’t going to happen.

When it did occur in February 2012, I could tell he was totally shocked and the collapse of his authority was now underway. I had been working at the club for seven months and immediately resigned from my position as Director of Football because I realised that a massive adjustment would now be required within the club’s football department and that I would be surplus to requirement.

The problems were there for all to see but I was surprised when a financial settlement through administration was not accepted by HMRC and the club had to go into receivership. The follow up to this was the club being consigned to League Two and this resulted in many of the senior players leaving. Although Rangers still had a squad capable of winning in the lowest division, it was certainly a turnaround for Ally McCoist who had had to endure a complete change in his position since taking over from Walter Smith one year earlier.

Rangers then had a journey to make to restore themselves as a major club. It was not easy but two significant points can be highlighted from this term in the lower leagues.

First, the fans proved to be extremely devoted to the club and still turned out in great number at home matches.

Second, the lower leagues clubs benefited greatly from Rangers’ presence and made revenue from home matches that far outweighed anything they had ever experienced.

The major disappointment was the failure of the club to gain promotion from the Championship in season 14/15, finishing third behind Hearts and Hibernian. The fans were beginning to react quite angrily to this and were becoming disenchanted with the management of the team and the club.

Dave King began to stamp his influence on matters and Mark Warburton was brought in to manage the team towards getting back to the Premiership, which he did achieve. He was backed by the board but it didn’t work out for him and he was dismissed.

It was a major surprise to the fans and everyone else when Pedro Caixinha was appointed in March 2017. I personally couldn’t believe it as I felt the lesson learned from the time of Paul Le Guen was that it’s a major risk appointing an Old Firm manager who does not have knowledge of the British game or the massive pressure that comes from the fans. His tenure proved this was indeed a misjudgment by the hierarchy.

The first two years back in the Premiership saw the club finish third behind both Celtic and Aberdeen, so in 2018 Rangers appointed Gerrard to replace Graeme Murty who had been promoted from youth coach to manager after doing reasonably well in the caretaker role prior to Caixinha being appointed.

The Gerard appointment was a massive highlight for the Scottish game, with him being one of the biggest names in British football. The main question that hung over him was based on his experience to handle the requirements of an Old Firm manager.
The thing in his favour was that he was thoughtful and confident regarding his football. It’s often said the best managers don’t have to have played at the highest level, but Gerrard had a reputation for being a leader with both Liverpool and England, and this is one of the attributes that defines someone who can succeed at the highest level.

His first season in charge was mainly about squad building and getting his team into a competitive shape so they could challenge Celtic, who were going for eight in a row. He had certainly improved the squad and team overall, so in the 19/20 season it looked like Rangers might finally be in a position to offer a challenge to Celtic. In December ’19 that certainly appeared to be the case. In the last match before the winter break at Celtic Park, Rangers comfortably beat Celtic and it seemed credible that a league challenge was now emerging.

But this did not materialise as Rangers never maintained their pre-break form.

Gerrard must have studied why this was the case and concluded it was down to mentality rather than ability. It was obviously an area that required to be worked on and the manager has certainly dealt with this. The Rangers team of 20/21 are now proving to be a very strong unit capable of delivering consistent results. Gerrard has established who his key players are that the team should be built around.

From here, recruitment will be a key aspect of Rangers maintaining this form as they will be very aware that Celtic will now be extremely committed, under a new manager, to establish themselves as title challengers. If they can find someone as capable as Gerrard has proved to be, then we are in for a exciting title campaign next season.