Ready to return to take charge of Rangers following his departure in 2021, Steven Gerrard issued a resounding response when Ibrox chiefs agreed to one of his demands.
Steven Gerrard set to return to Rangers
As Ben Jacobs reports, Rangers are close to a full deal to seal Gerrard’s return to the club. The Gers have identified their replacement for Russell Martin and appear destined to welcome back to Glasgow the manager who last won the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox.
It’s a quick move by the 49ers, who know they can’t afford to forget another such misguided appointment after Russell Martin’s tenure. The former Southampton boss won just once in seven games in the Scottish Premiership and lasted just 123 days in charge.
Gerrard’s first task will be to turn things around after Rangers’ disastrous start. The Gers are already nine points behind champion Celtic and 11 points behind unexpected leader Hearts. Simply put, the Liverpool legend has a monumental task on his hands.
The new manager also has the task of keeping the players happy in the current state of the club. Rumors are already circulating that Nicolas Raskin has attracted interest from Turkish club Besiktas, which could make the midfielder one of Rangers’ biggest ever sales.
Losing Raskin would be a disastrous first blow for Gerrard, who may look to place the Belgian in his strongest team to make up for Martin’s mistakes.
It’s a mandate the 49ers will desperately want gone just after agreeing to one of Gerrard’s key demands.
Gerrard delighted with Gers team meeting behind the scenes
As reported by TeamTalk, Ibrox bosses have already agreed to Gerrard’s request regarding his backroom staff. The new manager has reportedly asked Jermain Defoe, Gary McAllister and Steven Davis to return to the club with him alongside another unnamed staff member in a quadruple request agreed to by the 49ers.
After receiving that assurance, Gerrard gave Rangers the enthusiastic ‘yes’ they were looking for and should now be set to take charge for a second time.
The 45-year-old was not afraid to admit the importance of his team in a recent interview with Rio Ferdinand and has now followed through on his demands of Rangers.
“I felt like I had it all at Rangers [with Gary McAllister and Michael Beale]. Lots of coaching changes at Aston Villa and Saudi Arabia didn’t help me from a personal point of view, I think.
“I would love to do it again at some point. I want to change a few things and improve a few things and come back fresh, with a few different people around me.
“I’d love to take on a few more challenges doing this and that’s what I’m working on in the background at the moment. A few different ideas, a few different people around me.”
The Gers have given Gerrard what he asked for and now he must play his part in turning things around at Rangers after such a poor start to the season.
