Rangers boss Steven Gerrard urges players not to make same mistake against Celtic as he did against Manchester United
The former Liverpool star was sent off less than a minute after coming on against the Red Devils in 2015 and claims it came after Brendan Rodgers let him stew for 48 hours
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STEVEN GERRARD was gone in 60 seconds.
But the Rangers boss claims the final red card of his Liverpool career came after Brendan Rodgers made him stew for 48 hours.
Gerrard was left out the starting XI for his last game against Manchester United.
And after being introduced by Rodgers as a half-time sub he was shown a straight red card less than a minute later.
Full of pent-up anger the midfielder walked for a stamp on Ander Herrera.
It was one of eight red cards Gerrard received — with four of them coming against bitter rivals United and Everton.
Gerrard accepts he allowed emotion to get the better of him and as he gears up to go head-to-head with Celtic boss Rodgers, he has urged his own players not to make the same mistake.
He said: “The Man United one is unexplainable. I was only on for about 43 seconds.
“But I think that sending off had been coming since the Thursday, to be honest! Ever since I found out I wasn’t going to start.
"I was a player who played on emotion and that’s when I felt my best performances came, all the ones that people speak about.
“Sometimes I got the balance wrong, but I am human and my players are human and they’ll get it wrong sometimes. I can accept that.
“What we can’t accept is it happening a lot.
“Because then the players in the dressing room think we can’t have this all the time, the job is difficult enough and they start getting frustrated as well as the manager.
“I think we need to try to help the players to get the balance right.”
Gers have had four players sent off already this season, with Alfredo Morelos and Jon Flanagan both seeing red against Ufa in midweek.
Gerrard admits his players will always run the risk of being dismissed given he wants them to play on the edge.
Channelling their emotions in the right way without crossing the line is a fine balancing act — and one the Ibrox boss knows could mean the difference between winning and losing at Parkhead.
Gerrard said: “This is a game that is magnified more than any other game up here.
“For me it is important to let the players know they have to get the balance right between playing on the edge and trying to find the top performance inside and making sure it doesn’t spill over.
"We’ve been trying to do that since the first game of the season and some of my players have got it wrong.
“Sunday is more important than normal because it’s a tough test and a big challenge against a good team and the job is difficult enough with 11 men, so it’s very important that we try to get the balance right.
“It’s difficult, but the players have to be responsible for getting the balance right and judging it.
“We want the players to be tough and to go into challenges and we want the opposition to feel us.
“It’s a difficult one to judge and a difficult one to explain because you do want the players to play on the edge and with emotion because usually that’s where the best performances are.
"As a manager you can accept it if the player is not at fault and is maybe just a bit unlucky or if they are trying to do something for the benefit of the team.
“I think the frustrating ones for a manager is when it can be avoided or the player has been a little naive or done something that wasn’t needed.”
Gerrard spent three years under Rodgers at Anfield and is well aware of the Celtic boss’ coaching philosophy.
But the rookie gaffer is still expecting his old mentor to have a few surprises in store.
He said: “I obviously know a lot about him and his tactics. I know how he wants to play, but Brendan is a clever coach and he always has something up his sleeve.
"The reason why I respect him as a coach is that he always had something different. I think it would be very naive of me to expect what we see a lot of from the Celtic team.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he tried something different to try and catch us cold. That’s what he would do as Liverpool manager.”
Much has been made about the Gerrard and Rodgers relationship, but the pair congratulated each other by text after reaching the Europa League group stages.
Gerrard said: “It’s fine, there’s no problem. Everybody wants there to be a problem. They want a UFC match on the side.
“But we were in contact on Thursday night after the results. Everything is fine.”