ONLY a select handful of people have ever experienced what it feels like to drive through the gates of Auchenhowie on your first day as Rangers manager, as Steven Gerrard will this morning when he finally begins the job he was appointed to in a blaze of publicity at the start of last month, in the past.

It is safe to suggest there will be excitement and exhilaration at being in such a position at one of Britain’s biggest clubs. No little trepidation, too, given the expectations of supporters at Ibrox, the intense scrutiny which he is already under and his inexperience as a coach. But very few can actually testify to what it is like for him from personal experience.

Alex McLeish, though, can. The Scotland manager took over from Dick Advocaat at the club he had followed as a boy growing up in Barrhead after learning his trade in the dugout and recording some noteworthy successes at both Motherwell and Hibernian back at the start of 2001.

The 59-year-old understands only too well the emotions the new incumbent will have as he sets about attempting to restore the fortunes of a club which has struggled for the best part of a decade due to the most heinous off-field mismanagement.

McLeish appreciates the situation which Liverpool and England legend Gerrard will be going into will be quite different to the one that he found. Not least, the calibre of player he will have at his disposal and the funds he will have to spend will not be anywhere near the same. But there are certainly parallels.

The Aberdeen great came in at a time when Rangers were underperforming, the individuals responsible were being savaged by fans and the media alive and divides in the dressing room were starting to open up. He quickly succeeded in uniting the squad and won the League Cup and Scottish Cup in his first season.

Gerrard inherits a not altogether predicament. The current pool of players has been savaged by supporters and pundits for their performances in the 2017/18 campaign. Can the new man address the problems and turn things around? His predecessor has no doubts that he can make a difference.

“I was a young manager like Steven when I took over at Rangers back in the day,” he said after a training session in Lima, Peru, where the national squad are preparing for their friendly against Russia 2018 finalists Mexico in the Azteca Stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“But my goodness, I inherited a hugely talented squad. I couldn’t tell Arthur Numan what to do with a ball, I couldn’t coach Ronald de Boer and tell him what to do. They were just a wee bit out of kilter and some of them just needed an arm thrown around them.

“I got them playing again by using a wee bit of man management. It worked for us. These guys just needed a wee bit of a cuddle and that’s what I gave them. Man-management is still such a huge thing in football and I was good at that aspect.”

McLeish continued: “I think Gerrard will be too. His sheer presence in the place will command instant respect. He will be hoping that it drives up standard.

“I think Gerrard is a strong character and he should be able to deal with everything that’s thrown at him. But, of course, we will see what unfolds. I think being at a big club is huge help.

“When you get a few great results you can get carried away because a few defeats and you’re back down to earth with a bang. But he has the mentality of a tiger and he’ll be empowered by the fact he’s now the Rangers manager.”

Gerrard has only been a coach for little over a year – he was put in charge of the under-18 team at Liverpool in January last year just a month or so after bringing an end to his illustrious playing career.

However, McLeish is confident that spending no fewer than 17 years as a player at Anfield and representing his country on a staggering 114 occasions will prove invaluable and enable him to cope with the pressure that he will be under to assemble a a winning team and bring major silverware back to Ibrox after a seven years barren run.

“He was a great player and he knows what it’s like to be at a massive club,” he said. “That helps, look at what Graeme Souness did when he came in at Rangers.

“Of course, Souness had money to spend, it was a different era. He brought all these big English signings with him. It worked. I think Steven will soon realise the scrutiny he is under. The politics at any club can be a little unsettling.

“At a club like Rangers you are expected to win every week and that’s where you are if you are the Rangers manager. That is the pressure you are working under and the environment you are in. It is one of the biggest jobs in world football and Steven is about to discover that for himself. But, as I say, he will know exactly what to expect.”