Steven Gerrard to Rangers? 'A huge gamble' to appoint Liverpool legend
- Published
Gerrard is currently an Academy coach at Liverpool, where he played more than 500 matches
Appointing former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard as Rangers' new manager would be a "big gamble", says ex-skipper Lee McCulloch.
Gerrard, 37, is on a shortlist to take over from Graeme Murty, who was placed in charge until the end of the season.
"Yes, Gerrard is an under-18s coach, a phenomenally talented player for club and country, and won the Champions League and Uefa Cup," McCulloch said.
"But in management terms, he is very inexperienced. It is a big gamble."
Former Hearts boss Robbie Neilson also believes the possibility of Rangers hiring Gerrard represents a "huge gamble for both parties".
"For Rangers it is a gamble getting a young guy in who has not got a lot of experience of managing men," Neilson told BBC Sportsound.
"But also from Steven Gerrard's perspective, there are probably two things he has to find out first: What are the expectations at Rangers? If the expectations are to go straight in and win the league, then it is going to be very difficult.
"And what is the budget going to be? If the expectations are to win the league, then the budget has to match that.
"It is a huge gamble for both parties, and it is whether it is worth the risk.
"If I am Stevie Gerrard in that situation, it is a difficult one to commit to. Liverpool is such a big club and he has such a reputation there.
"He could spend the next two or three years there and go straight into that [manager's] position with the experience he has got."
Gerrard won 114 England caps, the fourth highest ever, and captained his country
Murty was put in charge until the end of the season after a spell as interim boss following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha in October.
And McCulloch questioned whether the club's interest in Gerrard would help their bid to finish second behind champions-elect Celtic in the Premiership this season.
"Rangers need to secure second place in the league," McCulloch told Sportsound.
"So what does it say for Graeme Murty, who needs to get something out of these players over the last four games to finish second in the league? I don't think this is good for Graeme.
"The board has got a job to do and it shows they are being active. They know currently things are not good enough and they need to get better next season.
"They are going to need to approach candidates before the end of the season, but it tells me that Graeme is not going to get the job."
'What is the strategy?'
Gerrard retired as a player in 2016 and joined the youth set-up at Anfield after rejecting an offer to become manager of MK Dons.
Neilson, who filled the MK Dons vacancy before departing in January this year, questioned Rangers' strategy around their new manager.
Graeme Murty is not expected to stay Rangers manager beyond the end of the season
The club have agreed terms to bring back veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor from Hull City, while Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield is in talks about a move to Ibrox, despite uncertainty over who the manager will be next season.
"If it is going to be a new manager making all the decisions, you have to wait for him to come in, give him his budget and let him pick the players," Neilson said.
"If it is going to be maybe a younger one who is going to just focus on the first team, then is it then the director of football doing it?
"But people need to know what is the strategy? What are the expectations? I think they have to tell people.
"Are we going to build an older team that is going to compete against Celtic straight away, and spend 'X-amount' of money?
"Or are we going to build a team over the next four or five years with a younger coach that is going to eventually challenge and hopefully have a sustained challenge, but not bankrupt the club or cost them a lot of money?"
Rangers travel to Celtic Park on Sunday seeking to deny their Glasgow rivals a victory that would secure them a seventh consecutive title.