"Steven Gerrard walked into the goldfish bowl of life as Rangers manager and declared himself ""ready for the challenge"" after revealing he had turned down eight other job offers before getting ""a special feeling"" about taking over at Ibrox. The former England captain was unveiled in front of a crowd of 7,000 fans as the 37-year-old quit his job as Liverpool Under-18 coach to take on the daunting task of overhauling Celtic and his old manager, Brendan Rodgers. Gerrard vowed to "" leave his ego"" at the door as he spelt out why he had taken the Rangers job after revealing he had turned down numerous offers to leave his role at Liverpool. And he also admitted that until Liverpool made him aware of the approach from the 54-time Scottish champions he had expected to stay at Anfield and emerge as a potential successor to Jürgen Klopp. When asked if he had been tempted to stay at Liverpool and be in the frame to manage the club, Gerrard replied: ""Yes. I had probably as many as eight other opportunities to be a manager, to be a number two, to be a coach, which presented themselves since I came home from Los Angeles [Galaxy, where he finished his playing career], but I never got the right feeling from them. When Rangers came, it was a game changer. ""The first phone call came from Liverpool. They made me aware Rangers had been in touch and wanted permission to speak to me. Steven Gerrard will flourish or fail at Rangers on his record against Celtic ""It wasn't a phone call I was expecting. I had a special feeling inside my stomach. My reply was 'Yes, I would like the opportunity to speak to Rangers'."" If Gerrard were unaware of the excitement his arrival has caused then the reception he received will have changed that. There were so many supporters at Ibrox that police had to close to road outside the stadium, and when a fire engine raced past it prompted the thought this would have been an entirely apt mode of transport for Gerrard's first managerial appointment. He takes the job in the immediate aftermath of two crushing defeats by a Celtic side who looked as though they were operating in a different league from their ancient rivals, but as Gerrard pointed out, he has never shirked a challenge. Gary McAllister (left) will be Steven Gerrard's assistant Credit: EPA ""I have weighed the gamble up and the risk and I understand other people thinking it is because it is my first job in management, but I have confidence in myself that I can deliver for these supporters,"" he said. ""My parents brought me up in life to always front a challenge, if you feel like that challenge is the right one for you, go for it."" Asked if his heart had sunk while watching the beatings inflicted at Hampden Park and Parkhead, like everyone else connected with Rangers, Gerrard replied crisply: ""I wasn't connected with Rangers at that time. ""To be honest, where I sit right now, it's not the right time and place for me to talk about Celtic. There will be plenty of time for that in the future when we move forward and we start the challenge from the new season. ""My priority is Rangers. I need to get this house in order, I need to produce a team and squad that's capable of winning football matches. I want the supporters to skip into this place to watch that team and be proud of them and to see that we can take the team and club forward and make it competitive. Graeme Murty has been sacked as interim Rangers manager Credit: PA ""That's my priority, not what Celtic have been doing and not what other people have been doing in the league. I have to focus on every challenge that's coming at us but for us to win those challenges and come out on top of them we need to sort Rangers out first."" Gerrard will not be Rangers manager until June 1, which means that the team's three remaining matches – at home to Kilmarnock today (Sat), followed by a trip to Aberdeen on Tuesday and the visit of Hibernian next weekend – are not his responsibility. Instead, that burden falls upon Jimmy Nicholl, now acting as a caretaker boss for the third time in his career. Given the possibility that Rangers might lose any or all of these encounters, it is a deft ploy on the club's part to keep their star acquisition free from the taint of failure at this fledgling stage of his career. Gerrard, of course, was never going to walk alone into the bearpit of Ibrox. Speculation that he would choose as an assistant someone who had played for the club turned out to be wide of the mark. Instead, he will be accompanied by Gary McAllister, whose most vivid memory of Ibrox is scoring for Leeds United there in the inaugural Champions League in 1992. ""We have known each other for a long time and the key thing you are looking for when you are looking for an assistant is trust,"" he said. ""Gary ticks that box. He is a football man, he has been around the game for a long time as a player, a coach, an assistant and he has also been around Liverpool of late. ""He is as excited as me, he can't wait to get going. It was important that I found someone with experience because everyone knows in the room this is the first job opportunity for me that I have taken. He will certainly be the perfect assistant for me. ""I'm going to make mistakes going forward. I've made plenty in my playing career and I've made many this season as a coach, but I believe in the staff I'm going to be bringing to share this journey with me. ""I'm not perfect but I will put people around me to support me, to complement where I need a bit of help and guidance. We will park the egos at the front door."" Of Brendan Rodgers, his erstwhile manager, mentor and future Old Firm counterpart, there was only a fleeting mention. ""I'm not sure how the relationship will change,"" Gerrard said. ""Right now, as I sit here, everything is fine. I really enjoyed my time as a player under Brendan, I have nothing but respect for the man and the coach. ""The way I see it, it's a very exciting challenge for myself to go up against not just Brendan but the other top managers in the league and the managers around Europe as well. That's where I am now and that's what I've got to face, that competition from other managers around the world, not just the closest ones."""
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