Rangers fans consider Steven Gerrard a hero after he won the Scottish Premiership title last season.
It remains to be seen if Steven Gerrard, Rangers manager, will accept his regular spot in the Ibrox home dugout as the Old Firm game draws near.
After a Covid-19 epidemic at the club, the boss of the Scottish Premiership-winning team did not travel with his team as they beat Alashkert in Europa League play-offs. His whereabouts on Sunday morning are unknown, as he still has two more sleeps.
Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool and England teammate, says Gerrard will continue to be at the centre of the Glasgow derby fight for many more seasons.
"He's had enough with European nights, but Stevie now has the taste for Rangers and Glasgow," Carragher stated to BBC Scotland.
"I don't think he is putting words into his mouth. I imagine that he would be looking at another two to three years when he wants Scotland to be the dominant country and Rangers back up there.
"Rather than stopping Rangers from winning 10 consecutive games, put Rangers on a run to win cups and trophies and hopefully get them into next year's Champions League."
"He crossed the line at stage... he's an award winner."
The rivalry between Celtic Rangers and Celtic is unlike any other. It is intense. Some people thrive in the heat of battle while others succumb to the fever that is whipped up every few weeks.
Gerrard's derby story is his own. He played 33 games against Everton for Liverpool. Under his guidance, Liverpool's red side was defeated only five times. This is despite the fact that Everton's heroic captain won it all.
Stevie Gerrard was very hard to move up in any field because he was so top-notch," stated Carragher, who was 15 years old with Gerrard in the Anfield first team.
He would admit that he crossed the line at times in those games. Many of his red cards were issued in those derbies. Perhaps he had to be more controlled with his emotions, as they were so important to him.
Stevie's one and only moment was when he was taken off during a Goodison derby game. He was not happy with the outcome of the game, and he celebrated on the pitch with us at the end.
It's what makes him unique. He is a competitor, and he is a winner. Some of the celebrations that he has had show this. It's easy to think back to the Celtic Park celebration a few years back, when he was "shouting" in front of the camera. Steven Gerrard is the one. The same feeling is felt in Glasgow as it is in our city. Perhaps even more.
Steven Gerrard (center) celebrates his hat trick against Everton 2012 with Jamie Carragher
Carragher is still convinced that the Old Firm fixture was a key factor in the lure to Glasgow of his former team-mate over three years ago. He insists that the desire to beat Celtic will continue to drive him.
He said, "It's rivalry. It's when everyone in England really notices." "Everyone watches Old Firm games.
"That would have been a top-draw, as was Celtic's status as top dogs. It was all about trying to knock them off their perch. He did that last season. Being the competitive he is, he'll be keen to continue that."
The Old Firm derby miracle was orchestrated by the Liverpudlian in Govan. Before his arrival, there was much pomp and ceremony. However, Celtic had a firm grip on this fixture. Brendan Rodgers' team was also unbeaten in 11 of these fixtures. They had won nine.
Spring forward to the future and Gerrard is not only unbeaten in their six previous fixtures in this fixture, with five wins, but also has a Scottish Premiership trophy upstairs in the cabinet.
The former England and Liverpool defender said, "If you're a Rangers manager, and you come into it when Celtic are winning, you can expect other teams to beat them,". Stevie would have known that. You can take them on head-on - that's exactly what he did.
"If you don’t perform well in the Old Firm matches, you won’t win the league. That goes for Celtic too. Stevie knew that he had to change this.
"He would have liked me probably"
Rangers enter Sunday's match riding the current of a turbulent wave. Europa League football has been swept in until Christmas, but the Champions League tide has since gone away after it was sunk by Malmo.
These two defeats and one in the league to Dundee United were exacerbated by Alashkert's underwhelming performances at home and away. Although it is done, it was far from glamorous stuff.
It won't be worrying him. It's likely that it is angering him, judging by his interviews," Carragher said of Gerrard's interview following last week's 1-0 win in the first leg.
"I saw his interview after European games and it seemed that he wasn't happy with Rangers' current level, how they are performing, or the results they are getting.
"It seems like he is telling the players and the Rangers fans responded to that. They want that from Stevie. Although the start of the season wasn't exactly what they expected, Stevie is smart enough to know that the Rangers we saw last year will be coming to fruition sooner than expected.
"He'll want that in the Old Firm match."
What would Carragher, the player, think of Gerrard as a manager?
"Aw, I think that we would have got along all right. The 43-year old said that he would have loved to play for Steven Gerrard.
"I saw his standards every single day at Melwood's training pitch. He would have liked me because I was not a bad player.
