Mark Warburton has warned Steven Gerrard that expectations at Ibrox will sink his managerial career.
The former city trader lasted less than two years in the Ibrox hotseat before being informed that he had resigned following three defeats from Celtic.
Warbo was happy to back the #goingfor55 campaign but his number was up when his side crashed spectacularly in a 5-1 defeat at Celtic Park that exposed Joey Barton, Nico Kranjcar and Pip Senderos as his marquee signings.
Two years later Gerrard has to try and work with a squad of failures assembled by Warbo and Pedro Caixinha while waiting for Dave King to deliver a war-chest.
Friday’s arrival of Gerrard has convinced Sevco fans that they are two steps away from playing in the Champions League but according to the former city trader Gerrard needs time to topple the hoops.
“If they expect Stevie G to come in and go and smash Celtic next season, win the league and get into Europe straight away then he is under inappropriate pressure,” the axed former Nottingham Forest boss told BBC 5 Live.
“Success is being the number one club in Scotland and yesterday (Celtic’s 5-0 win) highlighted there is a significant gap between the two clubs.
“Bringing the big name in, that buys Stevie some time, but that quickly evaporates.
“It will simply come down to him getting the backing of the board he undoubtedly needs.
“It’s not a case of saying Stevie G needs £100m or £150m. He needs time, backing and a clear structure.”
After losing 5-1 to Celtic Warbo said: “It’s game five of a long season. We don’t see a major gulf. We just got beat 5-1. They have bragging rights and deserved to win.”