Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield has heaped praise on manager Steven Gerrard, suggesting that he has an “aura about him”.
The former Liverpool man has overseen a steady period of progress during his first year at Ibrox, and Arfield has claimed that he was a huge factor in convincing him to move north of the border from Burnley at the beginning of the campaign.
As quoted in the Daily Record, he said: “Steven was one of the greatest players and as soon as I heard he was getting the job I couldn’t get up there fast enough.
“The manager is always there, he’s been there and done it, you look at him and you know you’ve got a manager who has seen it all.
“When the going gets tough he’s going to be there for you.
“He’s got an aura about him. When he talks everybody listens. That’s the greatest quality any manager can have. He commands the dressing room and when he speaks his voice demands everyone listens to him.”
OPINION
Ex-professionals don’t get much bigger than Steven Gerrard, and it is understandable that he elicits this kind of reaction from his players. The midfielder was a modern legend of the game, and if you’re in a dressing room and he tells you to do something, how can you refuse? His reputation alone demands respect, but by the sounds of it, he also has the right mannerisms and attitude to keep his players in line as well. There are some things you can’t be taught, and having the kind of presence that Gerrard clearly does is one of them. He is a mountain of the game, and if he can keep up the early praise he has shown in his first season as a manager, then there is nothing to suggest that he can’t go on to replicate that kind of success during his coming years in the Ibrox dugout.