Date published: Saturday 13th November 2021 3:13 – Joe Williams
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan claims it is “less of a risk” appointing Frank Lampard at Rangers than it was hiring Steven Gerrard in 2018.
Gerrard left the Scottish champions earlier this week to take over at Premier League side Aston Villa with Ally McCoist claiming it has left a “bad taste” in the mouth of some fans.
There have been reports that former Gers player Giovanni van Bronckhorst – who most recently managed Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou R&F – could be close to getting the job at Ibrox but Jordan reckons Lampard would be a great fit for the Scottish Premiership club.
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When asked whether he thought former Chelsea boss Lampard would be a good appointment, Jordan told talkSPORT: “I do.
“On one hand I think it might not be the best idea to follow a peer into a job, but that’s not how football works, and from a stardust point of view and from a capability point of view, Lampard goes there.
“I can understand the argument with Giovanni van Bronckhorst because he’s played there, but I’m not sure where he is in the food chain of managing a football club and understanding what’s going on up in Rangers at his moment in time.
“I think Lampard kind of shoes in and follows the blueprint that they took with Gerrard.
“In fact, it’s probably even less of a risk than they took with Gerrard, because he’s already done some managerial work and he’s already been at a certain level.
“He already understands the iconography of managing an elite football club, because he did it at Chelsea for 18 months. Gerrard didn’t have any of that.
“Lampard has that recognisability, but actually Rangers don’t need recognisability around the world, they need to win the Scottish Premiership title again and they need to qualify for the Champions League group stages from the get-go.
“Because if they hand that opportunity back to Celtic, Celtic already generate more revenue than Rangers do and, with that extra £14million cash cow, it’s a key component
“Frank Lampard going into Rangers would fit into the profile, players will respond to him, it’s a similar outlook of the game.
“I know there’s a big argument that the two could never play in the same team, but maybe they can manage the same team at different time!”