Perhaps Rangers and Steven Gerrard are operating on the basis of shared risk being a minimised one. There is precious little by way of alternative reasoning for this management alliance being recognised as mutually beneficial.

At a time when Rangers desperately need experience, they are in danger of being blinded by a big name and the kind of desperate urge to reannounce themselves as a grand club that is undermined by a string of core details relating to behaviour and performance. Joey Barton was once part of a similar, short-lived, Rangers initiative.

That Gerrard would be due credit rather than ridicule if finally accepting Rangers’ advances is obvious. He would be stepping into a club which could barely be more dysfunctional if it tried. Gerrard was cute enough to see impending trouble at MK Dons. What, it must be asked, attracts him to Glasgow – where he has no chance of overhauling his former manager, Brendan Rodgers at Celtic – other than a perception of Rangers in completely embellished form? It is safe to assume Rodgers will take great delight in slapping down one of his former charges.

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Barring delusion or huge ego, Gerrard must realise he would be pitching up at the OK Corral with a utensil from the Early Learning Centre. Yes, Graeme Souness made a similar move 32 years ago, when backed by the funds – and an English ban – where he could compete with Europe’s top clubs.

In no particular order Rangers have an absentee chairman in constant dispute with the takeover panel; two senior players suspended after a dressing room rammy; accounts which illustrate a business kept afloat by director loans and a recently jettisoned interim manager who had been in position since October.

The man now overseeing first-team affairs at Ibrox, Jimmy Nicholl, last managed Cowdenbeath towards relegation from Scotland’s second tier. Rangers were bundled out of Europe last summer by a team from Luxembourg, after which their manager ranted at supporters while standing in a bush. No wonder this is the stuff of comedy for opposition fans.

There is a live chance of Rangers finishing this season fourth in the Scottish top flight, with the financial impacts associated with that not to be underestimated.

January’s transfer window, presided over by the Rangers director of football, Mark Allen, demonstrated once more that Ibrox has become a soft option for soft players. Rangers meekly surrendered to an embarrassing degree against Celtic, twice in as many weeks, with the aggregate score 9-0.

That Rangers have failed to appoint a full-time manager following the inevitable sacking of Pedro Caixinha, early in this campaign, points to a huge club with deep-rooted problems. Derek McInnes, a lifelong supporter, could not be coaxed to Ibrox from Aberdeen amid an inability to extract basic information.

Gerrard would be correct to point out modern-day football is not full of stable environments but Rangers, in this state, is an extreme case. Smokescreens and a blame culture demonstrate shortcomings if you take time to look closely enough; Rangers’ erudite supporters have long since cottoned on, with their impressive loyalty being consistently abused.

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The club’s board has made such a catalogue of blunders that it finds itself in the incredible position of replacing a caretaker manager, Graeme Murty, a fortnight before the season ends. Those directors did not even have the capacity to handle that properly, with Murty needlessly in attendance at a club function on Sunday evening – hours after a 5-0 mauling at Celtic Park – and youth game 24 hours later.

As pundits in England have insisted Gerrard is entering no-brainer territory in terms of taking an Ibrox role, those north of the border have been accused of undue negativity – or fear – if taking the opposite stance. In truth, it is the latter group which has paid closer to attention to Rangers’ turbulent circumstances.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rangers’ long-suffering fans have had their loyalty abused by the shambolic goings on at the club. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

The establishing of Rangers as a clear second force in Scotland, thereby overhauling Aberdeen, is the first and achievable step for any new manager. Defeating Celtic on the odd occasion – Rangers have not won any of their past 11 Old Firm matches – and lifting a trophy – such as Inverness, St Mirren, St Johnstone and Hibernian have done recently – should not be beyond a manager of basic competence.

The novelty ends there; Gerrard would be starting his managerial career in an environment where he could only ever be second best, such is the extent of Celtic’s resource pool. It is also a far more ferocious and intense scene than even he has encountered at Anfield. Back to back draws for either half of the Old Firm are the stuff of public relations disaster. There is no breathing space, a situation which even decorated football men or managers – John Barnes, Kenny Dalglish, Paul Le Guen – have proven unable to handle and in spectacular style.

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This is not to suggest young coaches should never be afforded an opportunity. Rather, big clubs in need of personnel overhaul and emerging from a state of turmoil must surely look towards coaches who have a CV featuring the same. Several senior figures inside Ibrox know precisely this. Neil Warnock has made sufficient overtures regarding management in Scotland to be viewed as a credible candidate when stability is required.

In Gerrard, Rangers would be taking a needlessly monumental punt. The notion that players – regardless of wage packets and trophy chances – will be queuing up to play for a Rangers team on Gerrard’s watch is hilariously overplayed. Rangers would be banking on the iconic playing career of a 37-year-old triggering something remotely similar – and instantly – in the dugout.

If youth coaches are the flavour of the month, Rangers would be better served looking at the work of Jody Morris at Chelsea. That such a possibility is not quoted again points to an obsession with star name rather than track record.

Rangers’ most successful managers of recent times were Dick Advocaat, Walter Smith and Alex McLeish. Following the disastrous tenure of Frank de Boer, Crystal Palace turned to Roy Hodgson. Closer to Ibrox, Kilmarnock’s decision to appoint Steve Clarke has completely revitalised a stagnant team and rudderless club. When Celtic realised Ronny Deila was not a manager of sufficient calibre, Rodgers saw off Neil Lennon and David Moyes to answer the call.

Rangers will cite fresh thinking if pulling off their alternative strategy. Nothing whatsoever in the club’s recent past gives cause to take that seriously.