Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has given a little secret of his management by revealing something very subtle about his dealings with the media, in particular.

Speaking before Rangers’ playoff meeting with Legia, Gerrard was asked about his thoughts on The Poles and which players were the biggest threat to him.

His answer was very surprising in a general sense, but acute and sharp, while predictable to those who have noticed his style since being Rangers manager.

He said:

“We’re not afraid of any Legia players. We respect them all. We think they’re a good team. They have some exciting players in the final third but I’m not really a manager who mentions individual names 24 hours before a game, I think that’s unnecessary. But we come here with big respect for this team.”

This is interesting – Gerrard refusing to make any comment on any individual players that he’s wary of, whereas other managers might be willing to say a name or two that they have noticed.

It’s a very telling insight. It tells us Gerrard refuses to give anything away and absolutely hated the Oxford situation where he was more or less forced to reveal his hand for St Joseph’s due to the team selection – indeed, the manager admitted that explicitly.

And this is more evidence of how close to his chest Gerrard likes to play his cards – by refusing to name any players he’s taken particular note of, it gives no clues or indeed mind games to his opponent – and that’s a manager who will gather respect in the game for not lobbing red herrings at his opponents.

Another one well played.