The first leg of a Europa League qualifier is ground as unfamiliar to Steven Gerrard as baking Skopje will be when Rangers travel there for Tuesday’s second-leg encounter against Shkupi.
Yet this is where the Liverpool great, so used to playing on the biggest stage, made his managerial bow, leading the Gers to a richly deserved 2-0 success at Ibrox.
A packed house took in his much-anticipated debut and saw a stoppage-time penalty from James Tavernier provide the hosts with the insurance they craved ahead of next week’s trip to Macedonia’s capital.
As that spot kick was won, Gerrard clenched his first with the face of a man contented with his side’s performance but certainly not enthralled. The win has given his era the beginning he would have wished for, but it has also confirmed his pre-match belief that there remains a great deal of work to be done to transform this side into one capable of challenging Celtic.
Asked on BT Sport how he felt about the performance, he confirmed his earlier body language.
“Satisfactory,” he replied. “We’ve still got work to do, it could have been three four or five.”
It was a judgement that it is tough to pick holes in, as Rangers controlled the match but lacked the sharpness to put their opponents entirely to the sword.
Josh Windass was the chief culprit in this regard, missing a trio of glorious opportunities that could have dramatically altered the mood, which started exuberant but quickly became nervy as Shkupi proved more competitive than the home support might have wished.
“You could feel tension and anxiety. There's a lot of new players about. We're still feeling our way in,” Gerrard explained.
Certainly, skill of the type that the former Liverpool and England midfielder made his name from during his playing days was in short supply on the south side of the Clyde, and yet the Gers were well worth their victory.
Jamie Murphy’s opener in the first half was followed by a flurry of opportunities before the interval, at least one of which really should have been taken to transform the complexion of the tie.
Instead, the Gers struggled to build on their advantage after the break and seemed to be rather aimless before the introduction of youngster Glenn Middleton off the bench. While his directness down the left will have caught the manager’s eye, it was Murphy who won the spot kick that allowed the Glasgow side to travel to Macedonia with a sense of expectation as opposed to trepidation.
Limited by injuries and fitness concerns, Gerrard’s options were stretched, but his willingness to use the younger players on the bench was commendable. Liverpool loanee Ovie Ejaria got the best past of 30 minutes and showed enough to suggest he can develop into a highly influential player at his temporary home, though it was Middleton’s cameo that proved decisive.
Gerrard grumbled after the match that his side saw two strong penalty claims denied, though given that they were awarded a third, which was the weakest of the shouts, he did not have too much reason to be upset.
Indeed, he accepts that had his team done their job properly in the final third, that would not have been a talking point.
“[It’s the finishing] I'm slightly concerned about, that we didn't get a third or a fourth,” he said.
“Having seen them - they gave us one or two minor scares - but I'm very confident we can go away and score goals against them.”
Shkupi clipped the bar in the first half but otherwise offered little to suggest they were capable of finding the net in their first European match, though at home they will obviously be a different side.
With a two-goal cushion in their pocket plus the immense advantage of having not conceded an away goal, though, Rangers go into the second leg in a position of strength.
But the standards that have been set are higher than any time in the recent past, and no one will be driving for an improvement in Rangers’ performance next week more than their new manager.
The faces and the role may be new, but the winning feeling is one that Gerrard has grown used to, and in that regard he has started his new job in familiar territory. Now it is up to him and his Rangers squad to work to ensure it continues.
