STEVEN GERRARD the midfielder, the captain, the legend and the person will forever be inextricably linked with Liverpool. As manager, the bonds with Rangers have still to be fully established.

When radio stations south of the border ask for his opinion, it is because of his achievements as a player in the red of his boyhood heroes and the white of his country, not because of the blue shirt that he currently wears. Gerrard will never be able to escape his past but he is focused on the future.

As he arrived at the Arena Philip II in Skopje last night for his pre-match press conference and final training session ahead of the Europa League clash with FK Shkupi, Gerrard was greeted by banner-carrying supporters from the local Liverpool supporters club.

Read more: Steven Gerrard: There are no excuses for Rangers ahead of Shkupi second leg

Even when the questions started, his time on Merseyside was still a prevalent theme as local media praised him for his sterling playing career. At the end of a drawn-out question and answer session, one journalist asked if he would pose for pictures with him and his friends.

Gerrard took the bizarre goings on in his stride. He may be a rookie manager, but he is a professional and accomplished operator in front of the microphones.

“With all due respect, it’s not about me or anything to do with Liverpool,” he said. “I’m here for business and here to get a result for Rangers.

“It’s a very important match, the second leg of a Europa League tie, and it’s important we qualify for the next round... Shkupi are losing 2-0 so if they come into this match with an aggressive style it actually plays into our hands because it means they have to take a risk.

“We then have to be organised and ready to pounce to kill the tie. One goal kills the tie.

“We know it will be hot and humid, the surface will be tricky but we’re ready for whatever is thrown at us.”

Gerrard has only had one thing on his mind since the day in May that he was unveiled as Rangers manager but, naturally, his links with Liverpool continue to come to the fore.

If he is successful at Ibrox, observers will start to look at him in a different light and his exploits as a coach will become more prevalent and interesting that his achievements as a player.

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“There’s plenty of time to talk about the Premiership and the challenges that lie ahead domestically,” he said when one journalist attempted to draw him into an answer about his upcoming head-to-head with Brendan Rodgers this season. “With all respect, we’re here to talk about Shkupi.

“It would be disrespectful to them and Macedonian football in general if we were to look beyond the next 24 hours. There are plenty of press conferences at Rangers over a season.

“You’re more than welcome to come to Glasgow and attend them when we’re due to play Celtic - just make sure you bring your coat.”

There will be a time and a place for Gerrard to address the intriguing battle with his former Anfield boss but his thoughts were never going to drift from Shkupi this week.

The job he has to do at Ibrox is considerable and nothing will be allowed to distract him from his ambitions in his first managerial position.

“Obviously Liverpool are a huge football club around the world and they get a lot of attention,” he said. “I was used to that as a player.

“But it is also very important for me to be respectful to why I am here, the job I am here to do and that is Rangers.

“I am here to get a result and that is my priority so I think it is important that I let people know as politely that I can that I am here for a different reason and it is not Liverpool at the moment.”

Even when it came to talking football, Gerrard was one step ahead and there was no chance of him giving away more than he wanted to in either of his discussions with the Macedonian media or the travelling press pack.

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His side have arrived in Skopje with a 2-0 lead to protect and look to extend as they bid for a place in the second round this evening.

It was a high-tempo, forward-thinking approach at Ibrox last week as Rangers dominated but couldn’t put the game to bed. With the heat draining and underfoot conditions difficult, there may be a shift in approach this time around.

Gerrard said: “It will change throughout the season, when you are away from home against certain teams or the scoreline might predict how you play or what tactics or game plan you go for.

“If we are losing the tie here and we have to chase it then we come with a different style and might have to be a bit more aggressive. But they are the ones that are chasing the scoreline so you might see something different.

“The local journalists were searching for my game plan and my tactics.

“I don’t think in the heat and conditions it makes sense for us to go gung-ho and fly all over he pitch and press them and harass them and suffocate them. There will be a slight change of game plan, of course there will.”

Gerrard repeatedly stressed his confidence that Rangers will complete the job they started at Ibrox and set up a meeting with Osijek or Petrocub in the next round and that belief is well founded given the flow of play in the first leg.

Read more: Steven Gerrard: There are no excuses for Rangers ahead of Shkupi second leg

It was only Rangers’ profligacy in the final third that denied Gerrard a more comfortable win on his Ibrox bow. It wasn’t a concern, however.

Gerrard said: “I don’t even think it’s a case of players getting used to each other. It’s just players getting used to the season again.

“We’re just three and a half weeks in and playing football is the final touch, in the final third.

“You need that little bit of skill or sharpness and we are still getting tuned in.

“We are getting used to each other as a team, of course we are.

“But the thing that will come further down the line is that sharpness and that killer touch and being ruthless in front of goal.

“If we had no summer break and came back a lot earlier I’m sure the chances that came our way last week we might have taken. Of course.

“But at the same time we have to give the players a break to put last season to bed and freshen up because we are going to be together until the end of May playing big football matches.

“As a manager you sort of expect a slight bit of rustiness in front of goal at this stage.”