Rangers number two Gary McAllister has revealed why he and boss Steven Gerrard were tempted to join the club.
He has admitted that the opportunity to usurp Celtic from the summit of Scottish football is what lured them both to the Ibrox this season.
The Hoops – who are managed by Brendan Rodgers – have been a dominant force in Scotland for a while now, winning seven successive Scottish Premier League titles and two consecutive Trebles.
However, McAllister – who spent 33 years in England as a player and coach – says that the chance to come to the club and start winning things again was too hard not to turn down.
“That was the draw when Steven asked me to come. You come here, hoping to win something. That is the drive. That is what I associate this club with — winning things,” he told the Scottish Sun.
“They have been through it, they know how to get over the line. That’s the challenge, to get back to winning trophies. I didn’t look at it like we had a lot of ground to make up on Celtic. I just thought it was a wonderful challenge.
“I felt if I’d said no that it would have been something I would regret. I imagine the gaffer thinks the same. If we hadn’t come here we’d maybe look back in years to come and think it was a missed opportunity.”
OPINION
Rangers have obviously been trailing in Celtic’s wake recently, especially when they had to work their way up from the bottom again. Alongside that, they have failed to win any of the past 11 clashes with the Hoops, and this is something that the new Rangers duo will want to change imminently. The Old Firm derby is a huge occasion and the likes of Gerrard and McAllister will obviously want to win the match to prove that the club are a dominant force in Scottish football once again. It will be hard task, as Celtic have a squad full of quality players – but it is one that they will both relish. It comes as no surprise that the temptation of usurping Rangers’ bitter rivals was the reason behind them taking up their posts – and now they will have to fulfil that by beating Celtic today. If they do, it may be the start of something great for the Gers this season.