{"id":28620,"date":"2026-04-02T13:39:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T13:39:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:39:01","slug":"steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/Steven-Gerrard-6839026.jpg?r=1775120741175\" alt=\"Steven Gerrard\" title=\"Steven Gerrard\" width=\"590\" height=\"486\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Steven Gerrard reveals about Alfredo Morelos as Rangers manager <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Overlap\/YouTube)<\/span><span class=\"magnifier\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/Steven-Gerrard-6839026.jpg?r=1775120741175\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"affiliate-links\">    This article contains affiliate links and we receive a commission from any sales we generate from them. learn more<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Steven Gerrard has named former Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos as the most difficult player to manage. He spoke about the tough times he had managing the controversial Colombian player.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">Morelos suffered from disciplinary problems during his time at Rangers, but proved to be a key asset as the club won the Scottish Premiership title, scoring 17 goals under Gerrard. Gerrard revealed he had to bring in Kemar Roofe and Jermain Defoe as alternative options as he could not rely on the unpredictable Morelos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>During his time at Rangers, Morelos was shown eight red cards for various incidents. He left the club in 2023 to join Brazilian side Santos and currently plays for Atl\u00e9tico Nacional in his native Colombia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>In an interview with Overlap newspaper, Gerrard named Morelos as the toughest player he has ever managed, saying: &#8220;Morelos at Rangers was tough to manage.&#8221; &#8220;Maverick action. He scored goals but was defiant so it was very important for Rangers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;He bent the rules and after he scored two goals, you always knew something was resolved after he was late or some incident happened. When you go into a job, you want to set the rules and have the values \u200b\u200bof the team and so on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Express sports on FB! Get all the best sports news and more on our Facebook page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/Steven-Gerrard-and-Alfredo-Morelos-6839036.jpg?r=1775120741185\" alt=\"Steven Gerrard and Alfredo Morelos\" title=\"Steven Gerrard and Alfredo Morelos\" width=\"590\" height=\"424\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Steven Gerrard and Alfredo Morelos <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty)<\/span><span class=\"magnifier\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/Steven-Gerrard-and-Alfredo-Morelos-6839036.jpg?r=1775120741185\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Sometimes you have to bite your tongue and turn a blind eye to one or two guys. It&#8217;s just to keep the players from finding out. But yeah, he was important to Rangers and I knew he was very important. I knew there would come a time when I could step in where he probably wasn&#8217;t that important.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why I brought in Jermain Defoe. That&#8217;s why I brought in Kemar Roofe. Because when he was going through a period where he was challenging and breaking rules and values, Defoe and Kemar Roofe were playing. They were just as good as he was. Jermaine was much better than him at that age, but that&#8217;s why they won the league, because the team and their goals on the team are ultimately how we win.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The Liverpool and England icon shocked Ibrox when he left for Aston Villa just six months after leading the Light Blues to the Scottish Premiership title. He has now admitted he regrets leaving Rangers prematurely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>He admitted it was too early to leave Rangers, but insisted the Rangers board had no intention of going any further than that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Reflecting on his move from Rangers to Villa, he said: \u201cThe level has increased a lot, and I probably didn&#8217;t realize it at the time when I made that decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Again, in hindsight, we&#8217;re talking about hindsight. We&#8217;re all good with hindsight, right? I would have stayed at Rangers longer, gained more experience, been there longer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>\u201cSo I sit here and regret now that I didn\u2019t do it back then. It was tough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Also, in the conversations we had with the Rangers after we won the championship and the recruiting and financial discussions, it didn&#8217;t feel like the Rangers were ready to be active again. It was more like, &#8216;Oh, let&#8217;s fix this, fix that, do that.&#8217;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;The commitments weren&#8217;t as strong as I expected. Then the Premier League offers and opportunities came in. It&#8217;s tough. It&#8217;s hard to say no to Villa, who are a great club. I can&#8217;t say anything bad about them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Gerrard was in talks to make a sensational return to Rangers earlier this season, but the move fell through and the Ibrox bosses turned to Danny Rolle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2189544\/Steven-Gerrard-Rangers-Alfredo-Morelos\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steven Gerrard reveals about Alfredo Morelos as Rangers manager (Image: Overlap\/YouTube) This article contains affiliate links and we receive a commission from any sales we generate from them. learn more Steven Gerrard has named former Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos as the most difficult player to manage. He spoke about the tough times he had managing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steven Gerrard reveals about Alfredo Morelos as Rangers manager (Image: Overlap\/YouTube) This article contains affiliate links and we receive a commission from any sales we generate from them. learn more Steven Gerrard has named former Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos as the most difficult player to manage. He spoke about the tough times he had managing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T13:39:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/Steven-Gerrard-6839026.jpg?r=1775120741175\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/\",\"name\":\"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6839027.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T13:39:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6839027.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6839027.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","og_description":"Steven Gerrard reveals about Alfredo Morelos as Rangers manager (Image: Overlap\/YouTube) This article contains affiliate links and we receive a commission from any sales we generate from them. learn more Steven Gerrard has named former Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos as the most difficult player to manage. He spoke about the tough times he had managing","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","article_published_time":"2026-04-02T13:39:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/Steven-Gerrard-6839026.jpg?r=1775120741175","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/","name":"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6839027.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-02T13:39:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6839027.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/6839027.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/steven-gerrard-names-rangers-players-the-toughest-he-has-ever-managed-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Steven Gerrard names Rangers players the toughest he has ever managed | Soccer | Sports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}