Angry Rangers fans calls Steven Gerrard a snake as he leaves Rangers for Aston Villa

Rangers fans have been left enraged by the timing of Steven Gerrard’s move to Aston Villa, with some branding him a ‘snake’ after his departure was confirmed on Thursday morning. 

The Liverpool legend took over Rangers in 2018, and led the club to a historic 55th Scottish Premiership title last season, breaking Celtic’s sequence of nine in a row and going the entire league campaign unbeaten. 

Gerrard now exits the club at a decisive stage of the season, with the Scottish champions sat just four points ahead of rivals Celtic, with a League Cup semi-final against Hibernian just 10 days away and qualification for the Europa League knockouts in their hands. 

Meanwhile, sporting director Ross Wilson insisted both Gerrard and his backroom staff will always be welcome at Rangers. 

That message has not translated to a large proportion of the fans, however, who feel they have been let down at such a pivotal moment of the campaign. 

In response to Rangers’ statement on Twitter, one fan wrote: ‘Sad sad day. I would like to thank him for what he’s done for our great club but I will never forgive him for leaving us at this time and I have lost ALL respect for him now. NO ONE is bigger than the club.’

Another wrote: ‘Appreciate the work he done in the 3 years, from a shambles to Champions. Sadly, a very snide exit is a poor way to end.’ 

One fan, clearly unsure of how to take the news, wrote: ‘Divided on this today. Raging that he’s done it with a must win Europe game and a semi-final coming up but also we all knew his loyalty was never to Rangers in the long-term and I want someone who can win and loves the club. Who’s next?’

Particularly, a number of Rangers fans believe Gerrard has not stayed true to his word, having played down talk of an exit as recently as October. 

Asked about speculation over his future, having been linked to the then-vacant Newcastle job, Gerrard responded with: ‘Do I look happy, do I look settled, don’t ask me silly questions then.’

Additionally, after being confirmed as Scottish champions for the first time a decade in March last year, Gerrard insisted more was to come. 

He then said: ‘There is more to come and the next thing for me, when you win, it is always about what is next. I am so proud of the players first and foremost — they are the most important people inside the club.

‘I always said the first one would be the hardest. But I am hungry for more and I hope my players share that with me. If they do then it is exciting times to be a Rangers fan.’

One angry fan wrote: ‘Cheers for the memories but it’s a bit s****y leaving halfway through after saying a few weeks ago he was going nowhere. Leaves a decent manager but a few cups short of a legend.’

ALSO READ: Aston Villa have officially appointed Steven Gerrard as their new manager.

Another wrote: ‘Absolute snake. Hope you get them relegated. Absolutely no well wishes from me doing that at this point in the season.’

Indeed, Gerrard has received some fierce backlash to the news of his exit, but there are a number of fans who have instead thanked their former boss for his services. 

Though always insisting he was happy with Rangers, a move down south allows the former England captain to spend more time with his family, who still live in the Liverpool area. 

It is also no secret that Gerrard’s ultimate goal is to manage Liverpool, the club with which he is synonymous after a glittering playing career at Anfield. Bringing success to Villa could be his final stepping stone to his dream job, once Jurgen Klopp eventually departs.

That sentiment was echoed by a number of fans, one of which wrote:  ‘Our fans that are calling him a rat etc get a grip of yourselves man. We will miss him. Hope he does great things at Villa.’

Another wrote: ‘Thanks for transforming our football club and putting us back where we belong.’

One optimistic fan chimed in, stating: ‘As disappointing as it is, lets see how the players react. With the right appointment we could get a new manager bounce coming into a tough couple of months. This could very well be a blessing in disguise.’