Steven Gerrard: Going to Old Firm games with my Rangers-daft agent didn't prepare me for life as Ibrox boss

Gerrard has recalled how he became desperate to go to a Glasgow derby match when he was at Anfield after listening to his representative Struan Marshall talk about the world-famous fixture.

The former England midfielder went to encounters at both Parkhead and Ibrox during that time and wasn’t disappointed by what he witnessed.

However, the 40-year-old, who took over in Govan back in 2018 and is now on the verge of winning the Scottish title, stressed that being in the dugout is a completely different experience.

Speaking to the Robbie Fowler podcast, Gerrard said: “I’ll take you back to when I played for Liverpool and on my bucket list was always to go to an Old Firm game.

“I’ve been with the same agent since I was 18 or 19, Struan Marshall, who is a big Rangers fan.

“So I heard a lot of stories and heard him talking about the size of the Old Firm clubs and what it would be like if they managed to get down south and become part of the Premier League.

“So I wanted to come up and sample it for myself. I went to Old Firms at Celtic Park and at Rangers.

“In terms of the magnitude of an Old Firm game and the size of the clubs - the noise, support and atmosphere - I was well aware of it before I took the job.”

He added: “But you don’t realise, until you are in a certain position, the real intensity of a club, the demands and the expectation.

“Sitting down with the chairman and the directors, you talk about the values of the club and what it stands for. You speak to previous managers - I’ve had many conversations with Graeme Souness and Walter Smith.

“This club will go toe to toe with any club in Britain in terms of size and following.

“I knew what I was signing up for, I knew what I came into. That’s what I missed when I stopped playing - that intensity and responsibility. I’ve got it now, for sure.

“The demands here at Rangers are very similar to those I had as a player at Liverpool.”