Mark Hateley reckons Rangers are in safe hands with Barry Ferguson until the end of the season. But the legendary striker admits he’d welcome Steven Gerrard back to Ibrox in a heartbeat.
Ex-skipper Fergie landed the job of his dreams after being asked to steady the ship at his beloved club in the wake of Philippe Clement’s sacking. The former Alloa, Kelty Hearts and Clyde manager will be in the dugout for Wednesday’s trip to Kilmarnock, supported by trusted lieutenants Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Allan McGregor as part of a new-look caretaker staff.
The Treble-winning captain’s short-term appointment gives CEO Patrick Stewart some breathing space to work through the potential 49ers takeover and lead the search for Clement’s permanent successor. Gerrard has been installed as an early favourite to make a sensational return to Govan, three-and-a-half years after walking out on the club for Aston Villa.
Hateley worked closely with the man who stopped Celtic from winning the ten during his role as Gers’ Business Development Manager. And the nine-in-a-row idol knows from experience that Gerrard would instantly command respect behind the scenes by unifying all departments – just like he did the first time around.
In an exclusive interview with Record Sport, courtesy of NewBettingSites.uk, he said: “I’m looking at the whole picture here with new ownership. I would have him back in a heartbeat. I worked well with him when I was working at the club, crossing between players and the commercial side.
“My job was in the football business and connecting the two. It can be a bit British, should we say, between the playing side and the commercial side. It’s not an easy partnership, shall we say? But we did that quite smoothly because Steven realised what is needed of players within the football club.
“He used to make himself available all the time if I needed him, and he would make players available as well instead of just being isolated up at the training ground. That’s what it should be like, everything should be aligned. I think Steven works pretty well on that.
“He’s very accommodating, he knows what’s required to play for Rangers Football Club and he knows what players are required to play at a very high level, because that’s where he played all of his career.
“He commands respect from the whole of the football fraternity purely because of the way he has conducted himself throughout his football career. I think that ticks a real lot of boxes when you come to approaching and signing players.”
In the meantime, Hateley has backed rottweiler Ferguson to shake up the Ibrox dressing room and restore some pride at the club. He said: “Everybody knows what fans are like. Rangers fans have been crying out for Rangers-minded people at the football club.
“I think this works well, especially with the takeover in the background. I think it’s more interesting that the club has actually said the club is up for sale. I’ve never heard that before from my time at Rangers. So all things considered, this is the perfect scenario.
“The fans have got what they want, homegrown players in charge of the team. And they’ve got that until the end of the season, with the prospect of having new owners by then, which brings its own set of circumstances if that does follow through. It is what it is at the moment. Good luck to Barry and his team that he’s got around him. And good luck to his players because he’ll be in and around it – which is probably needed!