Rangers right-back Jon Flanagan has admitted his relationship with manager Steven Gerrard must change now that they’re no longer team-mates.
The right-back was in the same Liverpool team as Gerrard for five years before the veteran left in 2015. Flanagan hailed the impact the Rangers manager has had on the club as he spoke to the Daily Express.
25-year-old Flanagan has been a mainstay in the manager’s Rangers side, operating both full-back berths. The arrival of Borna Barisic means that Flanagan will, however, finally get to shift to his more suited right-back role.
And the former Liverpool youngster admits the previous relationship the pair is out the window.
I think our relationship is bound to change. He’s the gaffer now, he’s not Steven to me anymore. He’s come in, he’s done really well. He had a little taste of it at Liverpool with the Under-18s there but all the lads here are really enjoying it and I think he’s done a good job so far. He’s the manager and I’m the player now. It’s not as if it was when we were both players. But I think he’s doing a great job and I hope it continues.
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Flanagan has made an impressive start to life at Ibrox, bedding in nicely in his early stages in Govan. However, a more suited right-back role finally looks on the cards for the former Liverpool prodigy.
The full-back sits out through suspension for the second-leg Europa League clash against Maribor on Thursday night. This will no doubt mean a recall for captain James Tavernier, who sat out in the 2-0 win over St Mirren on Saturday.
Should Rangers avoid a defeat of two or more goals, they’ll be just one qualifying tie away from the lucrative group stages.