Kemar Roofe and Jermaine Defoe send Steven Gerrard messages as Rangers rejected
Steven Gerrard’s return as Rangers boss isn’t happening, but contact remains with some of those he previously managed at Ibrox, such as Jermaine Defoe and Kemar Roofe.
The 2024/25 campaign was another disappointing one for the club, who missed out on silverware as they were again beaten to the title by Celtic.
An underwhelming spell in interim-charge for former Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson was not enough to secure him a seat in the Ibrox dugout on a permanent basis.
That has left the club facing the challenge of having to find a new long-term manager, following the departure of Philippe Clement earlier this season.
New owners Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises have been searching for a new manager for Rangers for some time, although they have now been knocked back by one high profile candidate.
Steven Gerrard turns down Ibrox return
The former Liverpool midfielder was the last manager to deliver the Scottish Premiership title to Rangers, doing so during the 2020/21 campaign.
He has also been out of work since leaving his role with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq back at the end of January.
Earlier this month, Football Insider was told that Rangers were stepping up their efforts to reappoint Gerrard as their manager, although it now seems those have been unsuccessful.
According to a report from the Daily Record, the ex-England international has now rejected a return to Ibrox to take charge for the club for a second time, despite talks, to remain in Bahrain for what is being attributed to life-style reasons.
Even so, Gerrard still seemingly has the backing of some of his former players following the latest social media activity from Defoe and Roofe, who were both part of his Scottish title-winning side.
As the former Rangers boss celebrated his 45th birthday on Friday (30 May), the two strikers both posted pictures of themselves celebrating that success with Gerrard on their Instagram stories.
Those were then accompanied by messages wishing their former manager a happy birthday, showing the respect the pair still have for the 45-year-old, who then shared the posts to his own Instagram story.
Rangers facing new manager concern
Football Insider Verdict
It is going to be frustrating for Rangers that they look set to miss out on bringing Gerrard back to the club this summer.
The pressure is building on them to finally end the dominance that Celtic currently hold in Scotland, and the 45-year-old has previously shown he is capable of doing that.
As a result not bringing him back when he is out of work and therefore available, may feel like something of a missed opportunity for the club.
Even so, there are other candidates who can take on the role, and Rangers have recently been heavily-linked with Davide Ancelotti in their hunt for a new boss.
Given this would be a much less familiar move for him than it would be for Gerrard, it would be interesting to see if he could make a similar impact at Ibrox.