Rangers Fan View: Forget this season, it's all about the Steven Gerrard era now

This season has been an absolute shambles. I am already putting it to the back of my mind and looking forward to next season. It’s a new start for Rangers and a chance to press the reset button. We can only hope it’s more fruitful in terms of winning games and trophies than the last two season have been.

First of all, the appointment of Steven Gerrard. It’s a risk from the board of that there is no doubt. Going down the inexperienced and untested route wouldn’t have been my first choice. Having said that, the buzz that’s been created is something I haven’t seen at the club since we signed Gazza. The reaction to his appointment has been quite remarkable. To be honest, it’s been quite difficult not to get caught up in all the hype surrounding Gerrard’s arrival at Ibrox. In addition to that, I don’t think he could possibly do much worse than Murty or Caixinha whether it’s his first go at management or not.

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That is one major plus point for Gerrard from the off: things simply cannot get any worse. They can only improve. Is he the man to oversee that improvement? I don’t know, but the romantic in me tells me he is.

However, I am under no illusions that it will be a bumpy ride for him, especially as it’s his first job in management. It’s a giant leap into the unknown. We have little to go on in terms of preferred systems, style of play and his ability to impact a game from the sidelines. One thing he did mention is that his teams have to be physical and that’s something we have lacked. I would very much welcome a team that can handle itself when they need to instead of being bullied.

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Being honest, I think he is a guy who will command the respect of the dressing room in a way the three previous managers could not. He has that aura that a Rangers manager should have and hopefully, if he gets a good backroom team around him, the issues of his inexperience will be minimised. If he is a good man manager, which I feel will be important, that will bring him a long way.

Furthermore, he has the biggest job on his hands to change the mentality of the players he will inherit. He is a winner himself, so we have to hope he can turn the team around. Guys like James Tavernier, Wes Foderingham and others will need a big shift in mentality for next season.

Unfortunately for Gerrard, this aspect of the job will take him a while to sort out as the loser mentality at Ibrox has become deep-rooted since Mark Warburton’s time at the club. He needs to get rid of the existing mentality and create of a winning nature but to do that he will have to bring in a few strong characters to the dressing room who can handle the demands of winning every week. If he can do that, it will make things a lot easier for him. However, I don’t think he will accept the mediocre standards that have engulfed our club in recent years. That can only be a good thing.

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In addition to changing the mentality of the squad, he will have to get it right in the transfer market. In my opinion, he needs a strong spine. A new goalkeeper, two centre-backs and perhaps another striker to kick off his foray into the transfer market. It’s virtually the same problems that we have had over the past two years. However, they have not been properly addressed. That should be Gerrard’s first task. Get the spine right and build around it. It will be exciting to see what kind of player he can attract to the club.

Even though we have one game to go and still can possibly finish second, I am looking forward to the summer with excitement. It’s all about getting Sunday’s game out of the way and starting the new and exciting era under Steven Gerrard.