FORMER Celtic and Scotland manager Gordon Strachan believes that the arrival of Steven Gerrard as Rangers boss has given Scottish football a shot in the arm.

Strachan says that the former Liverpool and England captain’s star status has raised the profile of the game north of the border, and that his appointment is not only good for Rangers, but for the Scottish game as a whole.

“He’s changed the landscape in Scotland already,” Strachan said. “The profile of Scottish football has gone up since Steven’s went along there.

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“He will enjoy being the manager of Rangers. They’re a huge club, so he will love it. He’s done well for Scottish football so far.”

Strachan doesn’t buy the notion that the job might be too big for Gerrard given that it his first management post in senior football, and he thinks that the risk he may have been perceived to have taken may well have huge rewards if he can hit the ground running in his new role.

“People have been asking should he have joined Rangers as they’re a big club, but he might as well do that because you’re mostly judged on your first job anyway,” Strachan said. “He might have gone to Ipswich or Crewe and not done well there and would have had to build up his career again, but he’s done the right thing going to Rangers.

“He’s helping everybody out, helping himself out and it will definitely help Scottish football out.”

Strachan believes meanwhile that his former club Celtic may struggle to make an impact on the Champions League this season because of the financial restrictions they are working under in comparison to their competitors.

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“You look at other clubs who have done well in the Champions League and they’ve spent millions – Celtic can’t do that,” Strachan said. “Celtic just have to do their job properly, try and get some decent players in, which they have done when you think about [Victor] Wanyama, [Virgil] van Dijk, who went onto greater things. Celtic need to keep doing what they’re doing.

“There’s no secret to this – it’s all about great players. Unfortunately, Celtic can’t afford ready-made players. They have to bring them in and make them great.”

*Gordon Strachan was representing the League Manager’s Association (LMA), who are working with partners Prostate Cancer UK to promote awareness of the disease and proudly sported the charity’s ‘Man of Men’ pin badge.