A former Premier League legend has urged Steven Gerrard to ignore an old football cliche after the Liverpool icon re-emerged as the favourite candidate to land the Rangers job. The club's hierarchy are in the market for a new head coach after they parted ways with Russell Martin earlier this month. Martin oversaw a nightmare start for the Gers in the 2025-26 campaign in the Scottish Premiership.
Gerrard pulled out of race to become Rangers boss after advanced talks
Rangers parted ways with Martin just a few months after the former MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton manager took charge at Ibrox. Gers got off to a nightmare start as they managed to register just one win in their first seven league matches. Martin also faced opposition from the fans, who went public with their anger during a Scottish League Cup clash, where they arrived at Ibrox with banners reading, "Russell out – worst manager in history." They also hurled balls onto the pitch, which led to a delay in the start of the game. A week before the international break, Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership. The result proved to be the last straw for the top brass, as the club announced the departure of the manager.
Following Martin's exit, the Gers began their hunt for a new coach and were reportedly in advanced talks with Reds icon Gerrard at one point, but the former England midfielder eventually withdrew his name from the race, although both parties kept the door open for future negotiations, and his name is now back in the headlines as one of the favourites to take the role.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesGerrard told to ignore football cliche
Premier League and Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has opened up on the Rangers' situation as he addressed Gerrard pulling out of contention for becoming the Scottish giants' next head coach.
Speaking to , Shearer said: "I don't know Steven's tax situation with him being back in the UK and he can only answer that. There is that 'never go back' saying but if he wants to get back to management, he knows what it's like up there, he's done it and been successful before. He's a huge name in football. I don't think Celtic are that great either. Hearts are top of the SPFL at the moment so that tells you that Celtic aren't a great team either. Steven, or whoever goes into that role may fancy their chances and say it's worth the opportunity and worth going up there to compete. Rangers are miles off it at the minute and it's no surprise that Russell lost his job. The fans were going mad up there and it's not nice to see because of the human behind it and at the end of it. That's what you have to think of but you also know the score when you go into management – if you don't win games, you'll get sacked. The Rangers job will be a brilliant one for whoever takes over."
Was Gerrard afraid of becoming a 'laughing stock'?
Former Scotland star Pat Nevin backed Gerrard's decision to pull out of the running for the coaching role as he felt it would have been difficult for the 45-year-old to manage a team that had made a disastrous start in the new season.
Speaking to , Nevin said: “Steven Gerrard's the last one that won a title and it stopped Celtic doing the ten titles in a row. So he's literally as good as anyone else and he's certainly got a tune out of that team that season. I feel sorry for the board because when you look elsewhere it's tough. It's really, really tough to get a top manager because when you come into Rangers, it's not just Russell Martin. You're behind the eight ball already. When you walk in, they're so far behind the league just now. The expectation is, if you got second this season, even from so far behind, people will still be a bit grumpy with you. I understand that, they've got high standards. But the amount of managers that have gone in there and come out and been trashed, absolutely trashed. And there's no win for it. Celtic typically have so much more money. Celtic have got a base there. Celtic can go and blow Rangers out of the water with money just now if they want, (but) they're not. They've got plenty in the bank they can use. There's all sorts of stuff that Celtic have got in place. Rangers have got this team that's been built by a whole bunch of different managers. And I go to see Celtic-Rangers games a lot and you think, so who's playing for Rangers now? And that's not what you want.“
Getty Images SportMan Utd coaches in contention to become new Rangers boss
Ex-Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his former assistant coach at Old Trafford, Michael Carrick, are linked with the Rangers job. Both managers are currently out of work after getting sacked by Besiktas and Middlesbrough, respectively, earlier this year. Rangers are also looking at options like Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna, although he may be difficult to prise away from the Suffolk side.
