Steven Gerrard has virtually admitted that he can’t coach or manage footballers.
A year ago the Ibrox boss was heavily linked with a move for Kyle Lafferty, a current internationalist already playing in Scotland who showcased his ability with the only goal of the game for Hearts against Celtic at the start of August. Gerrard and star spotter Mark Allan watched the striker very closely with their interest leaked left, right and centre.
The Irishman had made a big impact at Tynecastle the previous season, switching to Ibrox in a £400,000 deal after playing in seven matches for Craig Levein’s side.
What could possibly go wrong working under the former Liverpool youth coach who had been given a blank canvas in his first job at Ibrox.
Almost nothing went right for Lafferty. After a bright opening that saw him scored twice on his SPFL debut at Motherwell. Yesterday he accepted a pay off from Ibrox, between transfer fee, signing on fee, wages and pay off his stay is likely to have cost the struggling club north of £1m!
Gerrard told The Sun:
You’d need to ask Kyle why it hasn’t panned out for him. We had high hopes for him because, when he signed, he was in a really good place. He’s a big, physical presence up front but, for whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out. We believe he had the opportunities.
Kyle is a good player, but showing it in glimpses for Rangers isn’t enough. That’s the brutal truth. He’s a good character to have around but if I had kept hold of him from a selfish point of view then he would have struggled for game-time. He’s still young enough and he still has the drive and hunger to be a success at whatever he decides to do.
Farewell, Kyle. You came, you saw 8 in a row, you left. Godspeed. https://t.co/EOSsMs5WGa
— Barty (@BartBartin) July 24, 2019
Lafferty was suspended for one domestic match by the Irish Football Association for failing to turn up on time for international duty. Later on a newspaper alleged that the striker sent intimate pictures and messages to someone other than his wife on social media.
Last night Levein ruled out a return to Hearts.
Another Gerrard signing, £2.5m Albanian wing ace Eros Grezda is believed to be close to negotiating a pay off on the remaining three years of his lucrative Ibrox contract.