Steven Gerrard has candidly admitted that he may not be able to return to football management any time soon after turning down what he considered to be the “perfect” job at Rangers. Before Danny Rolle was announced as Russell Martin’s successor in October, Gerrard was in intense talks with chairman Andrew Kavenagh and 49ers manager Parag Marathe. However, after several talks, he abandoned his sensational return to Glasgow Titans.
The Liverpool legend achieved hero status during his last stint as a rising star at Ibrox, most notably breaking Celtic’s monopoly on the Scottish Premiership title in 2021. Since then, Gerrard has had less success in the Saudi Pro League with Aston Villa and Al Etifaq. Mr Gerrard admitted he needed to choose the “right” job after two unsuccessful terms and insisted he was in no hurry to take up another managerial role.
Speaking about his current activities on The Smith Brothers podcast, Gerrard revealed:
“We try to be as close as possible, so we moved home. I work informally with TNT to cover Champions League and Premier League matches. They have been really kind and allowed me to choose matches taking into account my family situation.”
“So I’m trying to keep it local, just the Premier League games and the odd Champions League. Then I’m trying to do a little bit of socializing and greetings and things like that in the Far East. I’ve spoken to a few clubs, I’ve been on the phone and opportunities have come up, but unfortunately nothing at the moment.”
“I’m comfortable with it, it’s effortless. I’m not looking for a job or looking for a job. After the last two jobs, I need to make sure it’s the right one.”
The 45-year-old has not held a managerial job since leaving Etifaq in January after 18 months with the Saudi side struggling near the bottom of the professional league. Gerrard stressed that his next role must offer a “passionate” fan base and a real opportunity to compete for trophies.
He admits that if the right opportunity doesn’t materialize, he may not return to management at all: “I think I’m suited for a certain job. Passionate crowds — I need to feed off of that. Something needs to match my skill set, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m looking for the right match. Rangers were perfect, I was really close to getting up there again. The timing and some other circumstances just didn’t align.”
“Rangers is my type of club, the fans, the passion, I can feed off that. It certainly suits my style, but if something goes wrong and I feel I can fight for prizes, I’m comfortable doing what I do.”
