As a manager, Gardner Speirs was a problem solver.
A terrific coach but not especially my cup of tea, he could cut right through to the heart of an issue.
One day during a training session he pulled me aside and said: “Do you know your problem, Parksy? You’ve got your ambition confused with your abilities.”
It’s a truism that carried me through a mediocre career.
That abilities-and-ambition conundrum came flashing back after reading a quote from Steven Gerrard about his prospects of replacing Jurgen Klopp as boss of Liverpool – and again at 7.24pm last night.
It was in conversation with former Reds team-mate Danny Murphy that the Rangers gaffer spoke about a possible return to his spiritual home, saying: “Am I ready for the Liverpool job right now? Maybe not.”
There was also the caveat that he may need two or three tries at different clubs before he’s considered for the top job at Anfield.
It’s a bemusing presumption that Gerrard is treading water in Glasgow in some sort of holding zone before a hero’s return to Anfield once they say goodbye to the charismatic German.
If only it were that simple.
The truth is Gerrard may have painted himself into a corner after almost two years in charge at Ibrox. If this is an audition for the job he covets most, he has to put a trophy or two on the table and forge a reputation for himself to enhance his CV.
Not everyone enjoys the leap of faith that Cheslea gave to Frank Lampard to take him without any managerial silverware to his name after only one season in charge at Derby County. Only a fool would fail to recognise that the positives continue to outweigh the negatives in any rational assessment of Gerrard’s Ibrox tenure so far.
But he knows better than anyone that the gauge for success is always silverware.
As a player, he collected winners’ medals from three League Cups, two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup and, of course, the Champions League.
As a manager, those gongs mean nothing.
Rangers have a serious issue in this regard as they have a dressing room with many players who’ve won nothing. There’s Steven Davis and Allan McGregor with eight and 11 trophies at Rangers respectively while Ryan Jack has a League Cup in the bag from his Aberdeen days. Contrast that with Celtic players’ combined medal haul in recent years. These things matter.
Rangers have shown two faces recently – with excellence in Europe a stark contrast to their
miserable run of domestic form.
Progress against Braga on Thursday was a stunning achievement but Gerrard needs to get his hands on a trophy to put a gloss on his reputation as a boss who can be a winner.
There are too many presumptions being made that just because he was a great player that he’s destined to be a great manager.
It has to be backed up by evidence and, after last night’s latest crushing blow at Tynecastle in the Scottish Cup quarter-final, you don’t see where the next trophy for Rangers is coming from.
Gerrard needs to prove his ability as a manager is a match for his burning
ambitions.
