Gerrard won’t ‘obsess’ over Celtic

Former Liverpool captain Gerrard is launching his managerial career at Rangers, with fans of the Glasgow giants desperate for the ex-England midfielder to close the gap on cross-town rivals Celtic, who last season completed a second straight domestic treble.

Rangers finished 12 points adrift of champions Celtic in the Scottish Premiership but Gerrard said worrying about the Hoops, managed by Brendan Rodgers, one of his former Liverpool managers, would not help

“I think for me it is important not to be obsessed with Celtic. I have to sort Rangers out,” Gerrard said Friday. “There are things we need to improve on and my focus is on Rangers.”

Gerrard added: “Brendan sent me a message just after the announcement and we exchanged a few messages.

“I think it is very disrespectful just to focus on one team in the league, especially when you finish third (behind Aberdeen) and Hibernian were breathing down your neck as well.

“There are some good teams in the league but for me I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I was focusing on the other teams.

“Obviously there will be a time and a place to focus on those teams when we come up against them but right now my priority is Rangers and trying to improve certain things about Rangers so I can take the challenge to everyone.”

Gerrard will face Celtic in his fourth match of the season, making his Scottish Premiership debut at Aberdeen after the 2018/19 fixtures were released on Friday.