‘Steven Gerrard will win title after title at Rangers’ says Michael Ball

Former Ibrox defender is backing his ex-Merseyside rival to dominate Celtic… if he gets support from the board
Michael Ball, left, celebrates with his team-mates after Rangers won the title at Easter Road on 'Helicopter Sunday' in 2005. Picture: Bill Murray/SNSMichael Ball, left, celebrates with his team-mates after Rangers won the title at Easter Road on 'Helicopter Sunday' in 2005. Picture: Bill Murray/SNS
Michael Ball, left, celebrates with his team-mates after Rangers won the title at Easter Road on 'Helicopter Sunday' in 2005. Picture: Bill Murray/SNS

Michael Ball believes his schoolboy contemporary and former Merseyside rival 
Steven Gerrard will win “title after title” for Rangers if he continues to receive the full support of the Ibrox club’s board of directors.

Former Everton and England left-back Ball, a title-winner with Rangers in 2005, is confident next season can see Gerrard build on the work of his first two seasons in management to dethrone Celtic as Scottish champions.

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Ball retains a strong affection for the Ibrox club, regularly returning to Glasgow to watch them and referring to them as “we” in conversation.

He was delighted to see 
Gerrard take charge in the summer of 2018 and feels he is the right man to bring silverware back to Ibrox after the most turbulent decade in the club’s history.

“It’s disappointing to see 
a club like that go through what it’s had to go through 
for the last few years,” Ball told the Four Lads Had a Dream podcast.

“I grew up with Stevie. He was a great lad and obviously a great player, although on the wrong side [in my city] with Liverpool! It’s great for me to be able to support him now he’s at my club in Glasgow. Hopefully, he will be successful – and he will be, given that time.

“He is closing the gap. If you look at Celtic’s wage bill compared to our own, there is a massive gulf there.

“It’s up to Stevie to coach the players at Rangers to be better players and that takes time.

“He will hope to add more players when he can to the squad, to make them better during every transfer window. That’s going to happen.

“When you see your arch-rivals winning things, it should be an incentive to be part of it. You can put your head down, point fingers and moan about it and try and find out whose fault it is.

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“But it’s up to Steven and the players now to get the results, if the season restarts and Celtic drop points, to pick up the pieces and pile the pressure on them.

“Each and every year, the gap has been closing so hopefully next season and the ones after that, we are going to be top and keep on winning title after title. I think Steven is the man for that.

“It’s up to the board to back him, to bring in the players he wants to add the right mix of quality to the football club to be successful.”

Ball experienced an injury-hit four seasons at Rangers following his £6.5 million move from Everton in 2001 but his time in Scotland ended on a high note when he was part of the side who won the SPL title on “Helicopter Sunday’” 15 years ago.

Rangers won 1-0 at Easter
Road, in a match when both teams adopted a passive approach in the closing stages as the result also secured European qualification for Hibs, while Celtic slipped to a dramatic 2-1 defeat against Motherwell at Fir Park when Scott McDonald scored two late goals for the hosts.

“That was probably the game where I had more touches and minutes on the ball than any other in my career,” recalled Ball.

“The ball was getting passed around, from the goalkeeper to Marvin [Andrews] to me and I wasn’t getting pressed by the [Hibs] winger. They were happy with the result and we were happy with the result.

“We wanted not to make a mistake and maybe push for a second goal without leaving ourselves open at the back.

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“I always seemed to have the ball, running forward ten yards and then coming back again.

“Then, when the second cheer [from the Rangers fans] came up, it was like ‘what’s going on?’. Have they [Motherwell] scored again? Is the game [at Fir Park] over? We didn’t know what the situation was.

“But we also had to be focused. I saw Barry [Ferguson] and Alex [McLeish] hugging each other and I was screaming at them, saying ‘It’s not over yet’.

“I was just defensive-minded – if someone slips and Hibs score, we’ve lost [the league]. Our game still wasn’t over. But Barry and Alex probably knew what was going on at Fir Park. I was on the opposite side of the pitch, just guessing what was actually going on.

“I had the ball, looking for someone to pass to, and they were too busy looking at the fans!

“I’ve got goosebumps talking about it now. At the time, it was a surreal feeling. As soon as the final whistle went and you saw everyone on the bench going mental, you knew it was done.

“That’s why I went to Rangers, to be part of a league-winning team. To wait as long as I did was frustrating, so it felt more personal for me.”