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Steven Gerrard has admitted he's eager to return to management, amid rumours linking him with a sensational return to Rangers.
The Liverpool legend had a successful three-year stint at the helm of the Glasgow giants early in his coaching career, leading them to the Scottish Premiership title in 2021. His success in Scotland led to him being snapped up by Aston Villa in November 2021, but his time at Villa Park was short-lived and disappointing, lasting just 11 months.
Gerrard then made a controversial move to the Saudi Pro League, taking over Al-Ettifaq in July 2023, but resigned after only 18 months. Since leaving his role in January, Gerrard, who featured on the latest episode of the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, revealed he's been offered several chances to return to management, but the timing hasn't been right.
Despite the timing not aligning for the 45-year-old, he insists he's still keen to get back into the dugout as rumours swirl about a possible return to Ibrox. "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," he told his former England colleague, Rio Ferdinand, on his podcast.
"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.
"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 the 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."
Gerrard has also reflected on his managerial career to date, explaining why his time at Rangers brought success, whilst his period at Aston Villa didn't produce the desired results. "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," he shared.
"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. When I stopped playing football, it was a big void for me. And even though I knew my body was ready to pack in, and I couldn't really be the player I wanted to be.
"So, I was probably ready at the time. Missed it every single day. And I still miss it now as a player. And I qualified to do my badges when I went into my 30s. And I ended up getting my pro licence. Went into the Liverpool's Academy. Enjoyed a lot of that. But it was the managing side of it that I enjoyed.
"The one-to-one motivating players. Seeing that I could make a difference with a player to get more out of that individual player. Then I got the opportunity to go to Rangers and I loved it. Rangers, I felt like it was the perfect match. And it went on from there.
"I've really enjoyed the journey so far. Of course, I've had a couple of tough moments and lost my job at Aston Villa, which was really tough because I found the last six or seven games really tough because I felt like I couldn't pull it back.
"It's frustrating when you're in that position. When you're doing your best, you're even doing more. You're working harder, you're doing more and you just can't pull it back because you know that the dressing room is maybe not going to help you pull it back. That was tough.
"Saudi experience, I've loved it. I've loved it because I got the opportunity to really coach and learn. Different type of pressure, different type of pressure. Still at a club that wanted to win and still demanding, but a different type of demand, more of a supportive type of demand where you can evolve and grow as a coach.
"Living away because I was in Liverpool for such a long time and really enjoying the different cultures and taking myself and my family out of the comfort zone. The Villa thing was really tough at the end because the first six months of Villa, I felt like we had control of it, and we had Villa where maybe we should have had them.
"I think the stats, if you like, were saying that we had them in the top eight, nine teams in the league from taking them at 17. So, we were really in a good place. But I lost control of it quickly and it deteriorated quickly, and I found it hard to get it back. That was tough and frustrating.
"But look, this is the difference from being a player to a manager. It's a completely different role. You're managing a dressing room. You're managing characters and personalities. The three different groups that I've had have all been different. Different characteristics, different groups. Very different.
"So it's been fascinating to manage and coach them three different groups. I've loved it so far. I'd love another go 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 myself.
"I'd love another couple of 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."
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