Sir Kenny Dalglish: The wife and weans would make life perfect for Rangers boss Steven Gerrard

There are still nearly 30 league games to go, but Rangers put themselves in the driving seat with last weekend’s victory at Celtic Park.

Steven Gerrard must have been delighted with the application, commitment and desire shown by his players.

The formation deployed was one the squad is well used to, and they followed out the tactical instructions very well, indeed.

Sure, there is still a long, long way to go, and that’s why nobody in the Ibrox camp got carried away.

They enjoyed the moment, but they didn’t over-celebrate after the match as nothing has been won yet.

But Steven must be feeling things really are heading in the right direction.

Indeed, I would imagine the only thing that’s missing just now from giving him the perfect life in Glasgow are his wife and weans!

They still live down south, and the fact Steven is willing to give up a huge chunk of his family life showed his commitment to Rangers, and the sacrifices he is willing to make to see the club successful again.

When he accepted the Ibrox job and moved to Scotland in the summer of 2018, the only experience he had was managing at the Liverpool Academy.

He showed enough potential there to be identified by the Ibrox club as the man to take Rangers forward and end Celtic’s dominance.

There is no doubt he is getting closer and closer to achieving that, and results and performances such as last Saturday’s will only give him confidence.

He has rebuilt the squad, and some of his signings have been excellent.

Sure, one or two haven’t worked out, but that always happens. It’s best to talk about the ones that are successful.

Glen Kamara has been an absolute steal at £50,000 from Dundee. Connor Goldson scored both goals against Celtic and has also been first-class. Ryan Kent and Scott Arfield are top performers.

Then you look at the big improvement in the likes of Ryan Jack and James Tavernier.

Steven is hands-on in all of this. He loves managing, coaching and making players better footballers.

But as everyone is well aware, last weekend will only truly be meaningful if Rangers go on from it.

I don’t think it was a huge surprise they won this game, but to win it so comfortably took people aback.

They now need to go and build on it, and that starts this afternoon when the play Livingston at home.

Celtic will look to get back on track at Pittodrie.

They may have lost at home to AC Milan in the Europa League, but there were encouraging signs.

Listen, they will all have been hurting after the loss to Rangers, but I think some of the post-match analysis has been over the top.

It’s bordered on hysterical, and the people who have called for Neil Lennon to be replaced should take a long, hard look at themselves.

Neil took over from Brendan Rodgers in 2019, when there was massive pressure on him to succeed and finish off delivering the Treble.

He ticked the boxes after the Premiership and Scottish Cup victories were sealed, and followed it up with another title to complete nine-in-a-row.

Due to Covid-19, the Scottish Cup hasn’t been finished from last season but he has a semi-final coming up against Aberdeen next Sunday.

He may well lead Celtic to their fourth consecutive Treble.

So it’s clear to see he is a highly-talented manager and knows exactly what he’s doing.

He’s faced adversity before, and he always comes through the other side with silverware.

Don’t rule out him doing it again.

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Kemar Roofe’s goal for Rangers against Standard Liege has made the headlines around Europe.

The way he held off three or four challenges before scoring from inside his own half has rightly put it up there with the most-memorable in history.

Steven Gerrard stated that it’s the best goal he’s ever seen live, which is an outstanding compliment.

Me? My memory is not that great that I can remember every goal!

Watching it live, I thought Kemar was just hitting the ball into a corner to kill time.

Then I can see it on target, and I thought: ‘Oh aye, by the way . . .’.

© Rico Brouwer / SNS Group

His awareness and ability were first-class, and you also need to take into account the horrible conditions.

Maybe he’d done his homework on the Liege goalkeeper from his time with Anderlecht, and knew he liked to stand way off his line?

Naturally, the goal reminds you of David Beckham’s for Manchester United against Wimbledon in 1996, and everyone is making comparisons.

It has opened up discussions everywhere, with everyone talking about their favourite goal.

From my own career, I preferred to gauge goals by importance rather than what was the most spectacular.

It was the same when a team-mate put the ball in the back of the net.

If it meant us winning a cup, a title or a European tie, then a tap-in could mean more than an overhead kick or a 30-yard free-kick.

It’s all about personal choice, and I’d rather let others choose which one of my goals they felt was my best.

All I can say is that I got real pleasure out of every single one of them for Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland.

But I’m sure Kemar will never forget Thursday night’s beauty.