Rangers are 23 points clear at the top and six wins away from the league title; former reserve team manager Peter Lovenkrands joins the latest Scottish Football Podcast to assess Steve Gerrard's impact; watch Hamilton vs Rangers live on Sky Sports Football, kick-off 12pm
Sunday 7 February 2021 11:11, UK
Rangers edged closer to the Scottish Premiership title with a 1-0 win over St Johnstone and Peter Lovenkrands was a special guest on the Scottish Football Podcast to assess Steve Gerrard's impact at Ibrox.
Rangers have opened up a 23-point lead at the summit meaning six more league wins will confirm them as champions.
It was Gerrard's 100th victory as Rangers manager, and the club's former striker and reserve team manager Peter Lovenkrands was a special guest on the latest podcast to discuss how Gerrard has instilled a winning mentality...
"The recruitment they've done over the last couple of years he's been there and the set-up they've managed to get at the training ground has helped loads," Lovenkrands told the Scottish Football Podcast.
"I was lucky enough to see first hand the way Steven has worked the players from the start. His organisation and the way he plans and delegates his jobs alongside his fantastic backroom staff Michael Beale and Gary McAllister has made a massive difference.
"The way he is on the training pitch keeps the players hungry. The players have always been buzzing in training and that just reflects onto the pitch. You can see gradually over the years that he's been there that it's been getting better and better.
"This year has been the culmination of it all coming together. They're playing off one sheet, are really enjoying themselves and are looking really solid."
"I worked with Morten Olsen in the Danish national team, and he was very much a hands-on manager himself and another manager I've worked with, Alan Pardew, had a big backroom staff. The same applied with Alex McLeish and I feel Steven is adopting the same approach.
"Michael Beale has been entrusted with a lot of the training, so he's planning the sessions which is allowing Steven to focus on many other tasks behind the scenes.
"When he goes out onto the training pitch with the technical coach Tom Culshaw and McAllister, Michael has already planned everything all the way down to the youth team and who's going to be involved with the first-team group. It takes a lot of pressure off the manager.
"It allows Steven to focus on the games ahead and more the analysis of the opposition and his players, and it allows him just to tweak things here and there. It certainly helps when his staff are producing for him based on this plan and we're seeing the results."
"The pitches at the training ground have been changed and it makes a big difference if you're training on good pitches every day, and the training ground itself has been upgraded as well right down to the canteen and the analysis rooms.
"Improving the environment helps the players to focus and certainly makes the players want to be there because it's a really good set-up.
"It's what Gerrard demanded when he first came to the club. He wanted things to be more modern after what he's experienced at Liverpool.
"When results are going for you, you're the team that everybody wants to beat, but Rangers are starting to get results now even when they've played badly. That wasn't happening before; they'd play well but lose or drop points.
"Rangers know they can now score from everywhere on the pitch and they play with such confidence that they're not conceding many chances.
"When they do, they know in Allan McGregor they've got a goalkeeper they can rely on to bail them out. Everything has just come together this season. Of course, they can go through the season unbeaten, but they'll need to keep the consistency going which is very difficult."
It was a little over a year ago when Gerrard endured an unhappy 100th game in charge of Rangers, admitting his side were "unrecognisable" in their 2-1 defeat at Hearts on January 27, 2020.
The result derailed Rangers' momentum as they subsequently suffered defeat to Kilmarnock and at home to Hamilton to concede the title to Celtic.
But reflecting on the turnaround, Andy Walker added: "There's been a total change in mentality at Rangers. We covered a game at Tynecastle against Hearts.
"I went over to see Gerrard in the press conference afterwards, and he couldn't explain the defeat. He couldn't explain why the players were consistently falling down - and actually letting him down.
"You look at it this season, and they've not lost a game yet apart from the League Cup tie at St Mirren. We're now into February so it's an astonishing turnaround in the players' mentality."
The next Old Firm match between Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Premiership will be shown live on Sky Sports on Sunday, March 21.
Gerrard's Rangers have won both fixtures already played this season - the last on January 2 - with Celtic yet to score in either Old Firm match.
If both sides win all their games between now and then, Rangers could clinch the title at Celtic Park.
Kris Boyd said: "I'm looking forward to it. It's always a great occasion and they're fantastic games to play in. People are talking about Rangers potentially going the season unbeaten, and we've seen them take care of the rest. Celtic will look at it as a home game in which they can stop them doing that."
Walker added: "There's a realistic goal that Celtic should set out to achieve. They need to show their supporters they can beat Rangers. The title is gone. It's only a matter of time before Rangers win it, but it's a very realistic goal to try to give the supporters a bit of a lift and hope for next season.
"I know things have changed with no supporters at the ground but the last thing Celtic fans will want is losing the title to Rangers at their own ground."
Fans of Scottish football can now catch up on all the latest news and talking points via our weekly podcast featuring analysis from Kris Boyd and Andy Walker.
