Steven Gerrard has transformed Rangers and now delivered a first title in 10 years

There is a lot to be said for managerial delegation and minutes after Rangers secured their first league title in a decade on Sunday, those around Ibrox were stressing its importance in this success.

To many, it will always be Steven Gerrard’s Rangers and he deserves immense credit for pulling up a club by its bootstraps, an uncompromising pursuit to raise standards that has seen them halt Celtic’s charge towards 10 in a row.

Their rivals’ 0-0 draw at Dundee United on Sunday confirmed the title was coming to Ibrox with six games to spare. And for Gerrard, in his third campaign in charge, the triumph was sweet.

Steven Gerrard celebrates with fans outside the ground after winning the Scottish Premiership

‘It is very difficult to put into words,’ he said on Sunday. ‘I’m on a real, emotional high and it has been a journey that is not finished.

‘There is more to come and when you win, it is always about what is next. I am so proud of the players. But they are not as important as the supporters — it is for them. We have been down at times, really low at times, but this is an incredible high. This has been a collective effort — it is a monumental achievement and I am just so proud to be the manager of that.’

Gerrard cleared the decks three years ago and in doing so, ceded a certain amount of control to protagonists he appointed. Chiefly Michael Beale, the first-team coach taken from Liverpool who conducts training and has significant input on decisions during games.

Gerrard led Rangers to their first title in a decade and taking it off Celtic was even sweeter

Gerrard had spent much of his time as Liverpool’s Under 18 coach studying colleagues, working out who he wanted when the time came for a leap into senior management. Beale headed the list, with his boss candidly admitting recently that it would take 20 years for him to reach that level of coaching. It is expected they will remain a partnership wherever is next, and whenever that may be. Surely Liverpool will be charting developments.

Gerrard, who will stop training when something needs saying, greatly affects situations that are nearer his own skillsets. The gravitas with which he leads the club cannot be overstated, nor the individual work done with players and how his charisma has provoked change.

The Hummel Training Centre has undergone a significant revamp at his behest. More professional, the pitches resemble Ibrox. The squad’s conditioning is at a level never previously seen. He quickly removed the idea that staff have to ‘get’ Rangers in order to prosper, recently recruiting a new coach from France.

The gravitas with which the former midfielder he leads the club cannot be overstated

‘He treats the players like adults,’ one source said. ‘He can be ruthless. He doesn’t lead by fear but by example.’

They remarked how noticeable it was that Jordan Jones and George Edmundson quickly left on loan after breaching lockdown rules. Equally, they pointed out the treatment of the hot-headed Alfredo Morelos. The striker picked up five red cards in Gerrard’s first season, two last year and none this term. He is not as prolific but has been ‘calmed down’ by his manager, cutting petulance out of his game.

Gerrard was the longest-serving Rangers manager to have never won a trophy. Unwavering, the board backed him as he rebuilt, allowing the 40-year-old to work in tandem with the impressive sporting director Ross Wilson.

‘Rangers had no assets when Gerrard joined,’ a source said. ‘Now they have loads. Look at Glen Kamara, they bought him from Dundee for very little and now he’s worth a few million.’

The statistics — conceding only nine league goals, scoring 77, dropping just eight points — show complete dominance over a division, although the stars have aligned somewhat given the catastrophic campaign endured by their city rivals.

Now, with the title won, attention turns to Parkhead next week. The Old Firm. Rangers did not afford Celtic a guard of honour two years ago. There is intrigue as to whether that will be reciprocated.