Former Liverpool and Aston Villa coach reveals he spoke to Rangers' title winner before taking Hearts' job
The ex QPR and Blackpool boss is the new head coach of Rangers’ Premiership rivals.
New Hearts boss Neil Critchley says he spoke to former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard before making the move to the Scottish Premiership to take charge at the Jambos. The pair worked together at Liverpool and the 2021 title winner brought Critchley to Aston Villa as his assistant when he made the move to the Premier League club. Gerrard was one of a few people the former QPR and Blackpool boss spoke.
He said: “I'd be foolish not to reach out to some of those people as well because they've experienced something that I haven't and they're also good people. I know they give me good advice, but also I have to use the people that surround me as well.
“I've got some good people in the staff so I'm never afraid to ask and I don't pretend that I know everything, I certainly don't, I know we see it as a hugely collective effort.
“One of the reasons why I chose to leave Blackpool at the time was because of that relationship with Steven that I'd built at Liverpool and to go and work with somebody like him in the Premier League at a club like Aston Villa, that was a great opportunity and something that I really enjoyed. I think I'd be foolish not to speak to someone like Steven, and there's other people as well, but he was here for three years and had good success himself.
“So there's already been a few other people who will rename nameless at this moment in time, but they've been also giving me some advice, but again there's people on the staff at the football club as well that I need to tap into.”
Hearts and Rangers met in the first game of the Scottish Premiership season which ended in a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle. However, the fortunes of the two clubs have been drastically different since then with the Jambos yet to win a match and Rangers only loss coming at the hands of Old Firm rivals Celtic.