Charlie Adam: Rangers lack Celtic’s ruthlessness

Charlie Adam won the Scottish Cup and League Cup during six seasons with Rangers and in an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes: Fanzone, the former midfielder talked about their current season and Steven Gerrard.

Gers struggling for consistency

There’s one word to describe Rangers so far this season, and it’s ‘inconsistent’. Inconsistency has been the key. They were brilliant in Europe to a certain point last season, and the Champions League was a tough journey for them this time out; they were in a really difficult group but you’ve got to look at the manner of those defeats and while Giovanni van Bronckhorst did a good job in getting them to that cup final last season, and the Champions League, it didn’t end well for him.

When you look at their performances in the league, it’s more of the same – inconsistency. Performances have not been at the level we’ve come to expect from them. Fans will have expected them to fly out of the traps early this season and have a go, but we’ve just not seen that. Ange Postecoglou has got Celtic in a great position; some of the stuff they’ve played over the last two seasons has been exceptional, and if there’s one word you can associate with them this season it’s ‘ruthless’. They’ve just found another level, time and time again – even if it’s scoring goals in the last few minutes to turn one point into three, it’s something Rangers haven’t had.

Things have changed in the dugout at Ibrox now. Michael Beale has obviously come in and they’re starting to look a little more like their old selves. Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, these guys seem to be getting back to their best, and the team managed to get to another cup final last weekend. That’s where they want to be, winning trophies and clawing things back to how they were a couple of years ago. It’s a huge job, it’s a lot of pressure, but Michael knew that when he took the job on. He knew the situation, and I think if they can get a couple of signings in between now and the transfer window closing, then we’ll see… anything can happen in the rest of the season. Celtic are in the driving seat at the moment, but these things can change quickly in football.

I’m already picking Steven Gerrard’s brains on all things management

Obviously Stevie Gerrard came in and his first job was to get the club to 55 titles. He did that, and, yes, he could have done better in terms of winning more trophies for Rangers, but what he did in Europe, to rebuild the football club and bring in more money, it was a wonderful job when you look back on what he achieved in the short time he spent with Rangers.

Sometimes opportunities come up that are too hard to turn down, and that’s where Stevie found himself when Aston Villa came calling. He started off strongly there, but then faced a couple of tough results over a sustained period, and subsequently he lost his job because of that. He’s had two massive jobs though and has already gained so much experience. Whoever he goes to next are going to get a much better manager, and a vastly more experienced manager than he was when he first went to Rangers.

I’ll have the odd text from him [Steven Gerrard] now and then, and whenever I do speak to him, I try to pick his brains on all things management and coaching, because it’s something I want to do, so I want to hear about his experiences and listen to what he’s got to say. He’s still so young but he’s managed two huge football clubs, so of course I’m going to want to soak up anything he’s got to tell me.