As Steven Gerrard prepares to succeed Graeme Murty as Rangers manager, fans and the media are entirely divided over whether he's making the right decision.

On the one hand, the Liverpool legend deserves a lot of praise for showing bravery and taking the first step into management.

Gerrard has always expressed an interest in becoming a manager and after a year as Liverpool U18s coach he clearly feels ready.

But on the other hand, it might be too early for him and Rangers aren't exactly in the best position right now.

Following Sunday's heavy 5-0 defeat to Old Firm rivals Celtic, Rangers are managerless, third in the Scottish Premier League and at risk of dropping into fourth.

Gerrard will have a huge job on his hands and he's received a warning from former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, who knows exactly what it's like managing in Scotland.

Strachan believes nothing can prepare you for the SPL and that his and John Barnes' tenures at Celtic serve as evidence of how stressful it can be.

STRACHAN'S WARNING TO GERRARD

"There are no FA management courses - anything - that can get you ready you for this," he said. "He has to think about where he wants to go and how long he wants to be in football.

"You can look back at John Barnes going to Celtic. John knew the game, worked with the best managers, a clever man, an educated man.

"You go there and think, 'I can deal with this'. No, you can't. I was 48, 49 when I joined [Celtic].

"I had worked at Premier League clubs, with Sir Alex Ferguson and all these kind of people, had done my time, was ready to go again, got the opportunity and thought I could deal with it.

"Three weeks in I thought, 'Oh dear.' I've never felt so alone in my life. It was literally me and my wife taking on the world. It was so stressful. I've never felt like that [at any other club].

"Me and my wife used to sit in the city, hold hands and hope it would get better. The whole of Glasgow, you belong to them."

Talk about dropping a truth bomb. No matter how confident Gerrard is of turning things around at Rangers, he must listen to people like Strachan who have been through the same.

But if anyone can handle the pressure, it's Gerrard, who had the weight of the world on his shoulders at Liverpool and never failed to deliver.