Gerrard rejects chance to return as Rangers boss

Steven Gerrard has turned down the chance to return to Rangers for a second stint as manager, with the timing of the move believed to be behind his shock decision.

The former Liverpool and England captain held talks with the Scottish Premiership club earlier this week following Russell Martin's dismissal as head coach on Sunday.

Those discussions were thought to have gone well but, while the 45-year-old is believed to be open to returning to Ibrox at some stage and the club are of a similar mind, it will not be in the near future.

Gerrard was previously in charge at Ibrox between 2018 and 2021, winning the Scottish title in the 2020-21 season.

He has recently expressed a desire to return to management following unsuccessful spells with Aston Villa and Saudi club Al-Ettifaq, but withdrew from the interview process on Saturday.

It leaves the fledgling Rangers hierarchy still searching for a head coach to succeed Martin, who lasted just 17 matches after being appointed in June.

They sit eighth in the Scottish top flight, having won just once in their opening seven league matches, with their next game the visit of Dundee United next Saturday.

How have Rangers reached this stage?

Following the takeover by a US-based consortium in the summer - led by now-chairman Andrew Cavanagh - Rangers decided Martin was the man to lead the team forward on a three-year-deal.

The former Rangers and Scotland defender got Southampton promoted to the Premier League, but was sacked after 13 defeats in their opening 16 Premier League matches the following campaign.

The reception from supporters to Martin's appointment was frosty at best and he failed to win them over at any stage of his tortured 123-day tenure.

The 39-year-old's final match was a 1-1 draw at Falkirk before the international break, following which he was given a police escort away from the stadium after fans tried to stop the team bus leaving.

It took Rangers until late September to win in the league and the club were humiliated 9-1 on aggregate by Club Brugge in the Champions League play-offs.

Martin left with the club 11 points behind leaders Hearts and nine behind Celtic, having earned just five victories in all competitions.

Rangers' search for a replacement quickly alighted upon Gerrard, who was of interest to the club's American owners in the summer, before a number of issues resulted in him withdrawing from the running.

In a podcast recorded prior to Martin's sacking but released on Wednesday, Gerrard told former England team-mate Rio Ferdinand that he was keen to return to management.

In that interview, Gerrard also said he wanted "to be at a team that's going to compete to win because I think that suits me better".

But it has now become apparent that team will not be Rangers.

Who might turn Rangers tanker now? - analysis

The Rangers board now must bring in a manager who can be a unifying figure for the supporters and get the best out of a group of players who have massively underperformed this season.

The Ibrox club could have gone and got Derek McInnes after sacking Philippe Clement. Now such an appointment would be way more problematic.

Again, McInnes would make a lot of sense for a lot of reasons - his understanding of the club and of Scottish football and an ability to take charge of a dressing room and mould a successful unit.

But he is part of a Hearts set-up that is clearly going places and it is difficult to see McInnes leaving, having committed to an exciting new project at Tynecastle. He has also turned down his former club once before, in 2017.

Sean Dyche is another whose name has been mentioned. He worked with Kevin Thelwell at Everton, where he steadied a ship that was in serious trouble, making them much more difficult to beat, a quality he is renowned for.

He overachieved at Burnley, though expectations there are vastly different from those at Ibrox. He has also been linked with Nottingham Forest, which might prove more appealing.

There are a number of other names flying around. In hindsight, Barry Ferguson and his team would have been a significantly better appointment than Martin had they been put in permanent charge after last season's interim stint, but it seems unlikely the new owners will revert to them.

Kevin Muscat has rightly been part of the discussion over recent vacancies at Ibrox having enjoyed success in Australia, Japan and China, while Gary O'Neil has English Premier League experience and Danny Rohl is highly rated, though another young and relatively inexperienced coach may be considered too much of a gamble.

This is a massive appointment for Rangers and whoever comes in has a huge job on his hands to "turn the tanker".