WHEN news of Steven Gerrard’s departure began to unfold last week, attention was not solely fixated on the manager's move south but also on the future of his coaching staff.

It always appeared inevitable that trusted lieutenant and first-team coach Michael Beale would follow in Gerrard's wake. Regardless, there remained muted - if unrealistic - optimism the former Chelsea coach may not leave Scotland. Such talk is the perfect barometer of Beale's influence on Gerrard’s management career to date.

And yet it was soon confirmed that he would leave Glasgow for Villa Park along with Gary McAllister, Tom Culshaw, Jordan Milsom and Scott Mason.

Managers are now very much the leaders of management teams. It’s why so much impetus is placed on number ones bringing their staff with them when moving job.

"I think the biggest strength of strong people is to put people around you who are stronger in specific cases than yourself. Only if you are insecure you wouldn't do that.”

Jurgen Klopp speaking to Liverpool.com in 2017.

“I love my job and am fortunate to do it but sometimes you can’t take a break and analyse what’s going on.

“That’s why my backroom staff today, my assistants like Rodolfo (Borrell), Juanma (Lillo), were so important.”

Pep Guardiola speaking to the Man City website earlier this year.

“All credit to my assistant, he had the idea,” said Thomas Tuchel in a recent press conference after a half time tactical switch against Malmo led to a 1-0 win for Chelsea in Sweden.

Arguably the world’s three leading coaches underlying the reliance placed on support staff - they all require technical expertise alongside them in the dugout.

The job of a manager is now so seismic, and the frequency of matches so constant, that responsibility must be divided. There is opposition analysis, training, media relations, board relations, recruitment, development and more to take care of.

Gerrard once said it would take him 20 years to be as good an on-field coach as Beale. When he branched into management he needed somebody to translate his image of Rangers onto the pitch by bringing experience on the training ground he did not yet have.

READ MORE: Three simple Rangers tweaks to reignite fires of 55 - Blair Newman

Beale, who never played professionally and had spent the majority of his career in youth development up until 2018, did just that.

That’s why as the imminent arrival of a new manager, thought to be Giovanni van Bronckhorst, edges ever closer and a whole new staff arrives - the club will know who is appointed alongside the new manager is of equal importance.

Van Bronckhorst’s priority will not be identifying a first-team coach who knows the league – but one who can support and assist his vision of a winning Rangers team. Who that will be has yet to be fully revealed. His former assistant Jean-Paul van Gastel is currently working in China but their season will end in a matter of weeks.

Could someone like Neil McCann or Kevin Thomson contribute positively to the squad? Undoubtedly. Equally within the context of Van Bronckhorst's proposed appointment, it is not a necessity.

Pedro Caixinha spoke to a range of ex-players to join his management team in 2017 – of which Jonatan Johansson was eventually selected.

Both Kenny Miller and Barry Ferguson (following his interview for the job) referenced Caixinha’s naivety to the demands of Scottish football - the grounds that required a fight for three points and a reluctance to adopt certain principles. The Portuguese inherited a club still in turmoil and an unsettled playing squad. There was an understandable requirement for a trusted voice that knew the demands of Rangers.

READ MORE: Pedro Caixinha on what went wrong at Rangers, tactical periodisation and Kenny Miller

Van Bronckhorst has travelled to all such grounds and won every trophy on offer in Scotland. He will inherit a squad of players with a range of leaders and a multitude of experiences. What would a Scottish coach bring that these factors don't cover? That would justify an appointment instead of a Beale-esque figure who may not know the league but can develop the squad and implement a tactical identity.

With a background in development, Beale evidently connected with the squad and improved them. He evolved a system that brought remarkable consistency and improved individuals.

Rangers should have won a treble last year based on their supremacy in the league. A sole trophy doesn’t reflect their true level on the continent and in the Scottish Premiership.

Furthermore, cast your mind back to the recent 2-1 win over St Mirren, when a system alteration within the opening 20 minutes destabilised Jim Goodwin’s game plan. The requirement was for a tactician to analyse what was stopping Rangers from playing and implement change. Beale sprung from the bench and after a brief conversation with his manager, a double pivot rendered the home side's press ineffective. 

READ MORE: How Rangers’ double-pivot 'dismarking' allowed champions to turn the tide against St Mirren

The defining 4-3-3 mid-block of the last three years which earned so much success on the continent was also of Beale’s doing. The Rangers Review attended a webinar in which he explained his tactical philosophy and the system at length. This provided the bedrock for European success and a record-breaking defensive season in 20/21.

A Scottish coach may tick all boxes but is not a requirement. This squad are experienced, as is Van Bronckhorst, should he be appointed as we expect.

The only criteria for coaches joining his team should be their capability to match the excellence brought to the table by those gone before.