Jermain Defoe has appeared to hint that he could be ready to return to Rangers, just a month after expressing his burning ambition to return to Ibrox for a second spell on the coaching staff. There is growing speculation that if Steven Gerrard is appointed as the new Ibrox manager, he may want to include Defoe in his revamped coaching set-up. Gerrard welcomed Defoe to the club as a player in 2020.
Former England manager Stephen Holland is also being considered, but will further fill the positions of Defoe, Gary McAllister and Stephen Davies, who have been suggested for key roles. Former England striker Defoe has never hidden his aspirations to return to Ibrox, and social media posts on his Instagram account – featuring a vintage Rangers tracksuit with the caption ‘WATP’ – made it clear the club remains firmly in his thoughts.
In an interview last month before Russell Martin’s departure, he revealed his long-held desire to be involved with Rangers again.
The former manager, who was in England for talks with Ibrox bosses at the weekend, could be given the opportunity to move on.
Defoe said: “I tried to come back in the summer. I’ve got all my coaching badges and I want to be part of the club in some capacity. I understand what that’s like. I’ve won a league title there too. Only once, but I understand that. Talking about recruitment, I felt like the club was recruiting well at the time[under Steven Gerrard].”
“Stephen was smart in his approach. It was a good mix. We had young players. We had players who were Rangers fans and understood what it takes to play for a football club.”
“Then he brought in guys like me and Davo (Steven Davies) and obviously Gregsey (Allan McGregor). I remember talking to Stevie over the summer and asking him who he needed to bring in. I called Joe Aribo and told him he needed to come.”
“We thought, who is some young talent that could come in there and bring a little bit of quality? And he went and got Glen Kamara. We felt there was a good mix of senior players, players that were there and some young players.”
“Our group was really tense and close, so we had the belief that we could win every game. We were in charge of the locker room, so Stevie didn’t even have to do it.”
“In addition to the players who were already there, the players who have won a lot of league titles, we also have upperclassmen coming in. We tried every day to maintain the standards during training.
“Rangers are missing that. When you look at the team and the squad, you feel like you’re missing those characters. Obviously Tabb is there and he’ll do that, but we need more than one.
“There needs to be at least five or six people in the leadership group managing the changing room, because if you’re not winning games, the changing room can be a difficult place.”
Former Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha has issued a stern warning to Steven Gerrard, warning him against returning to his once-respected club.
In an interview with GiveMeSport, the veteran manager said: “There’s a saying in Portugal: ‘Never go back to a place where you were happy.’ Sometimes you come back to a club where you were really happy after five years and it works out.”
“For example, Jose Mourinho did it at Chelsea. When it comes to Gerrard, he knows the club better than I do. He spent more time there than I did. He’s British. He’s recognized by Rangers fans as a winner, the one who stopped Celtic from scoring 10 consecutive goals. He’s recognized as having achieved success in the recent past.”
“If he comes back, I think we’ll be fine. But at the end of the day, football is about players and I don’t think Rangers have the players at the moment who can compete at the level that Rangers require. So it’s not just the manager that’s the problem.”
