Steven Gerrard set to sign new deal as boss at Rangers until 2024

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard at training ahead of the Btefred Cup final. Pictiure: Alan Harvey/SNS

Last night, less than 48 hours before his team take on Celtic in the Betfred Cup final at Hampden, it was reported that Rangers will announce a new contract for their boss today.

Gerrard, 39, arrived in Govan on a four-year-deal last May following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha and will this weekend  try to win his first piece of silverware.

Last season Rangers finished runners-up to  Celtic in the Premiership and failed to reach the finals of either the Scottish Cup or League Cup.

Ahead of tomorrow’s final, Gerrard said he was “excited” by the prospect of trying to stop Celtic winning ten trophies in a row and deliver a piece of silverware for Rangers for the first time since 2011.

The Ibrox manager, who has concerns over the fitness of left-back Borna Barisic and midfielder Steven Davis, is confident that progress has been made during his year and a half in charge so far.

As he looks to deny the treble treble winners and secure his own first trophy as a manager, he accepts that victory tomorrow would be a measure of just how far his side have come.

Gerrard said: “That’s what excites me. That’s the opportunity we have given ourselves by getting to this stage.

“Last year we never gave ourselves that opportunity. This year there has been progress but now we have to go and try to grasp it.

“That’s the chance you have to give yourself. But the hardest bit is to get over the line. That’s the last hurdle, especially against a team like this,” he added of the keenly anticipated Hampden showdown.

“It [the treble treble] is some record but, at the beginning of it, you have to respect where Rangers were.”

Celtic’s utter domination of the domestic scene over the past three seasons, sweeping aside all-comers in the league and cups, concincided with Rangers bid to re-establish themselves among the elite following their trudge back up from the lower leagues.

But now, more than eight years after their last major trophy success, the Rangers manager believes they can finally mark their improvement with a League Cup triumph.

“I’ve always got confidence in my team. They are human beings and they are not always going to hit the heights that I’m trying to drive every single game.

“But, more often than not, when facing a tough challenge, we have done ever so well. We have had some good rehearsals recently, Porto away and home, Feyenoord away and home. So, the level of this game shouldn’t shock us. But you still have to make you sure you go out and execute and play your part

“This is what finals are all about. Who is going to be the person or the team who provides the big moment on the big stage? Celtic have proved and there is no way I’m going to disrespect what they have done. But we have an opportunity for that to be us. And that’s what excites me.”