Steven Gerrard has "unfinished business" in management amid Rangers return links
Steven Gerrard says he has "unfinished business" in management and claims Rangers were the "perfect match" for him, amid links to the vacant role at Ibrox.
Gerrard is the bookmakers favourite to be the next head coach at Rangers following the sacking of Russell Martin.
He was in charge in Govan from 2018 to 2021 and won the club's 55th league title, whilst halting Celtic's bid for 10-in-a-row at the final hurdle.
The Englishman left for Aston Villa that autumn but was fired by the Premier League club after 11 months, with the club just above the relegation zone.
The former Liverpool captain quickly took up a role at Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, but left in January 2025 by mutual consent.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast with his old England team-mate, Gerrard said: “I think certain jobs and certain clubs would suit my style and the way I like to go about it.
"But I've also got time now where I'm not in a rush, where I know the right people that are out there to make me a stronger and a better coach. They're the people I need to find. Because if I get the right match with them people around me, I know and I've proved I can be successful as a manager. And that's what I'm working on in the background now.
“But I've had five or six really interesting phone calls since I stopped in Saudi. And I haven't been ready because I haven't got that team set around me. And the timing hasn't been right. My daughter's just had a baby. I've just become a granddad. I wasn't ready. I haven't got my staff ready.
"So unfortunately, them opportunities or them phone calls have come at the wrong time, if you like. But if the right call comes my way, the right club, the right challenge, and I've got my people set, which I will have at some point, I'll take that challenge on because it's in me. It's in me.”
"I'll speak to people off the record, in private, get a feel for where they are. The first thing I try and do is, I know where I'm strong and I know there's areas where I need good support and I need special skill sets to make me better and stronger in terms of my staff and my group. I felt like I had that to a tee at Rangers. I had it to a tee. A lot of coach changes at Aston Villa and over in Saudi that I don't think helped me from a personal point of view.
"So yeah, now enjoying family time and doing a lot of things that I haven't been able to do. Going to Grand Prixs, doing exhibition games with ex-teammates and superstars, that type of stuff's been great.
"But there's a part of me that still feels that there's a bit of unfinished business in terms of wanting to go in and face another couple of exciting challenges.
"But I want a certain type of challenge. If in an ideal world they come available, I'll jump at them. If they don't, I won't go back in. I want to be at a team that's going to compete to win because I think that suits me better."
Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh released a statement on Monday, confirming the club are already undertaking a "rigorous, thoughtful recruitment process".
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