Steven Gerrard showed his class again by wishing the Great Walter Smith well in his illness and only wishing the great man could have been there tomorrow.
Walter, as we know, is stricken with ill-health right now, and will be sadly unable to attend Rangers’ trophy day, but Stevie’s ‘reveal’ (we all knew this) that the former manager had been a wise word in his ear now and then over the past three years only affirms what of course, we were aware of.
And naturally Gerrard was swift to pay tribute to Smith while dropping a little hint that will give Rangers fans hope over a man we can only call the Father of Ibrox.
He said:
“Listen, I’ve gone on record many times about how special he is, not just as a manager but as a man. Unfortunately, he’s been unwell of late and it’s a shame because I would have liked to have had him in the stadium on Saturday and have shared a photograph with him but that time will come. It will be a special moment for me because Walter has really gone out of his way for me so the very least I can do is to share that moment with him. Sadly, it won’t be this weekend but I’ll make it my business to make sure that I have a picture with Walter Smith, myself and that cup.”
Smith has been quietly helping Stevie, not being a manager-by-proxy but just being a counsel for him and giving him sage words of guidance, and he knows the value of that all-too-well.
And his words suggest that Smith could be back in the public eye sooner than expected, with a welcome snap featuring himself, Stevie and 55.
We’d all celebrate that greatly.