Steven Gerrard's stunning Michael Beale confession a concern for Aston Villa as coaching brain exits

Rangers fans are concerned about how they will fill the defensive void left by Connor Goldson with his likely departure.

And for £3.5 million the stopper proved a valuable part of the Steven Gerrard revolution with his incredible consistency during four years at Ibrox.

But when it comes to Gerrard’s best signing as Ibrox boss then, arguably, it’s a man who never pulled on the boots - or certainly not in a playing sense.

Given his managerial inexperience, it was vital that Gerrard got his backroom team spot on when he landed the Rangers job.

Gary McAllister offered that having played at the top level as a player and also various managerial and assistant roles.

However, it became clear very early on that the lesser-known Michael Beale was THE key appointment for Gerrard and regarded as the brains behind the whole coaching operation.

And it isn't just lip service. His "less stress" formation and tactical tweaks are grounded in every player knowing their job.

Beale's believes if his stars know their roles then they will have to run fewer yards and exert less energy by sticking to the principles.

That way of playing was never more apparent during a host of European displays to remember including wins over Braga, Porto and Galatasaray.

Players adore Beale's way of working and the Aston Villa boss is acutely aware of the loss which will be left.

Gerrard himself admitted it when speaking to The Robbie Fowler Podcast, saying: “It would take me 15 to 20 years to become as good as Michael Beale as an on-pitch coach, delivering sessions on a daily basis, so I let Mick be Mick because he's the expert.

"What I'll never do is try to do someone else's job when they are better than me at doing it. A lot of people won't have a clue