Steven Gerrard has revealed that senior Rangers duo Scott Arfield and Allan McGregor help manage the dressing room.
The Light Blues boss revealed in an interview with former teammate Jamie Carragher how the summer signings are integral to maintaining standards and keeping a firm hand on the youngsters.
“What’s good in my dressing room is we still have a bit of the old school in there with Scott Arfield and Allan McGregor,” Gerrard told the Daily Telegraph.
“They help me manage the dressing room and will keep the young lads’ feet on the ground. I manage them a bit different to the younger lads. Standards-wise, I am all over the younger lads. For the older ones you don’t want to be a busy manager because they have been around long enough themselves.”
OPINION
In the era of ever-present social media, post-match dressing room selfies and one-man corporations, there is certainly a need at all elite clubs for grizzled pros who can set standards of professionalism and good conduct. It is intriguing that it is midfielder Arfield and goalkeeper McGregor, both of whom followed Gerrard in moving north of the border over the summer, who Gerrard trusts to help ensure the youngsters stay under control. Neither is club captain – that is James Tavernier – or long-serving in recent times, although McGregor is back at Ibrox for a second spell after a trophy-laden first spell in blue and red. But they have played at a higher level than anyone else over a long period of time as a result of their Premier League experience. McGregor has been one of the outstanding players in the SPL this season and, while Arfield has not been as effective, he is certainly an integral member of the starting XI who can be relied upon to do a solid job in a number of positions.