LEWIS MAYO reckons boss Steven Gerrard is the ideal role model for the next generation of Rangers stars to look up to this season.

The defender is edging closer to a return to action after an injury setback earlier this term as he attempts to continue to rise through the Light Blues ranks.

Gerrard has included several members of the youth pool in first team sessions and squads in recent months as he keeps a close eye on the up-and-coming talent at the Hummel Training Centre.

The 38-year-old started his coaching career with the Liverpool kids before making the move to Rangers in the summer as he took his first steps into management.

And Mayo is loving the chance to listen and learn from Gerrard as the Anfield legend continues to impress at Ibrox.

He told SportTimes: “The player he was and the man he is and the coach he is now, he has got so much that he can give to us to help us and teach us.

“I have learned from him just being into the sessions and listening to him coaching. If you look where he was at Liverpool, he was in almost an identical situation of being an Academy player looking to make that breakthrough.

“He knows exactly what it is like to be in our position because he has done it, so from that perspective he has got a lot to give to us.

“His level of intelligence with regards to the game is incredible and I can feel myself learning just listening to him talk and with the way he coaches. The way he carries himself on and off the field and around the building is something that we can all look to and learn from.”