Forgive us if you’ve seen this story before.
A manager comes in to a club, changes their culture for the good, brings back the fun times to the fan base and, if they’re excellent at their job, wins some silverware.
Just when everything seems to be going perhaps a little too well, a bigger fish in the pond comes along and dangles the carrot of a larger transfer budget, better facilities and maybe the chance to compete in Europe.
Inevitably, that leaves the smaller of the clubs as the jilted lover left high and dry as the manager becomes entranced by the brighter lights on offer.
Yet things soon go to pot for that manager at their new club and soon enough they are sacked, consigned to the managerial scrapheap once more.
But what of the club that made them into that managerial hotshot, the talk of the town?
Things haven’t exactly been as rosy since that manager left to the point where they’re on the lookout for someone to steer the ship.
Do they dare to rekindle their old flame?
That’s the situation that faces Rangers right now, having sacked Russell Martin and been linked heavily with re-appointing Steven Gerrard nearly four years after he fled the comforts of Glasgow for Aston Villa.
Sometimes these types of hires work out, with one example being Mark Robins at Coventry City.
Other times it doesn’t go so well, like Frank Lampard at Chelsea, although the fact his second managerial spell at Stamford Bridge was on a caretaker basis provides some mitigation.
So, why might Rangers be enchanted by the idea of going down this treacherous road with Gerrard?
Gerrard could be about to come full circle in his managerial careergettyWhen was Gerrard appointed Rangers manager?
To start, let’s rewind back to May in 2018.
Rangers had just axed Graeme Murty and the Glaswegian giants were in dire need of fresh ideas in the Ibrox dugout.
Gerrard, who was coaching in Liverpool’s academy, stood out as a leading candidate, but had not yet managed at senior level.
However, Rangers decided to roll the dice on the Anfield icon.
Upon Gerrard’s appointment, then-Rangers chairman Dave King said the legendary midfielder had ‘the necessary knowledge and temperament to lead the club to the success we all desire.’
“This is a special day for our club, our fans and for Steve,” King added.
Gerrard became the 16th permanent manager in Rangers’ historyDespite the clamour that surrounded Gerrard’s appointment and the fact he enjoyed a 12-match unbeaten run to start his reign, restoring Rangers to their previous glories unsurprisingly proved not to be an overnight job.
How did Gerrard fare in his first season at Rangers?
In his first season at Ibrox, Rangers were knocked out of both Scottish Cup competitions by Aberdeen.
However, Gerrard guided the club through the gruelling Europa League qualification process all the way through to the group stage.
In the Scottish Premiership, Rangers’ second-place finish marked their highest placing in seven years.
But the peak of the season may have come on the second-last match day of the Scottish Premiership campaign as Rangers recorded a 2-0 win over Celtic to mark their first Old Firm victory since 2012.
Safe to say, the foundations for future success under Gerrard had been laid in his inaugural campaign at Ibrox.
The Liverpool icon learned plenty in his first season at the helmGettyHow Gerrard’s second season at Ibrox transpired
Gerrard’s second season as Rangers boss began in awfully similar fashion to the first, as he enjoyed a 13-match unbeaten run across all competitions before a 2-0 loss to Celtic in the league.
Rangers’ response to the result would be telling, especially given it was the third time Gerrard has overseen a defeat from four Old Firm fixtures since he took charge.
What followed was an impressive 16-game stretch in the league where Rangers did not lose.
That run of results also included a 2-1 win over Celtic at Celtic Park, Rangers’ first away win in the Old Firm since 2010.
“It feels the best right now,” Gerrard said on the scale of Rangers’ win over the Hoops.
He added: “It is a big moment for the team and the club because it has been through too much pain here, too many defeats and setbacks and knocks.
The 45-year-old snapped Rangers’ luckless run against bitter rivals Celtic and celebrated accordingly“It is a big win and huge win because we have come here and dominated again against a very good team, a successful team and a team we have respect for because of what they have achieved.”
Despite the morale-boosting victory, Gerrard and Rangers could not make the most of it as they won five of their next 10 league fixtures before the season was curtailed due to Covid.
Rangers did, however, fare better in the Europa League as they reached the round of 16, only to be eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen via a 4-1 loss on aggregate.
Gerrard ends Rangers’ agonising wait for silverware in third season
As Gerrard’s third season at the helm of Rangers beckoned, the Ibrox faithful were entitled to feel the team would enjoy another lengthy unbeaten run to start the 2020/21 campaign given what had transpired in the previous two terms.
Little did they know it would extend for 38 games in the league.
In fact, Rangers did not lose a game in the 2020/21 season until December 16 2020, when they slipped to a last-minute 3-2 loss to St. Mirren in the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals.
Under Gerrard in Rangers’ title-winning season, skipper James Tavernier scored 11 goals and contributed 10 assistsGetty Images - GettyGerrard’s side clinched the Scottish Premiership title with six games to go, marking the first time Rangers were kings of Scotland since a decade.
But, most importantly, Rangers’ league title stopped Celtic from winning ten in a row.
What records did Gerrard’s Rangers break in their title-winning campaign?
When it was all said and done, Gerrard’s Rangers finished unbeaten on 102 points, 25 ahead of the second-placed Hoops.
Rangers also conceded a measly 13 goals and scored 92 across the entire term.
The 13 goals shipped set a British record for the fewest goals conceded in a 38-game season, eclipsing the record of 15 set by Chelsea in the 2004/05 Premier League campaign.
That’s far from the only record set by Rangers under Gerrard during their title charge.
talkSPORTUnder Gerrard, Rangers were the second team to go undefeated in the league since 1898/99[/caption]Having kept a clean sheet in their first seven league games, Rangers shattered a 114-year record – held by Celtic – for the most consecutive shutouts to start a season in Scotland.
The points haul of 102 was also the first time Rangers had cracked a century of points while the 25-point margin between them and Celtic was the widest in history when the Light Blues were ahead.
Speaking after the triumph in 2021, Gers icon and talkSPORT host Ally McCoist was ‘absolutely ecstatic’ with what his former club had achieved.
“I have got to say, a tremendous job by Steven and Gary (McAllister) and Michael (Beale) and indeed most of all the players,” McCoist said.
“It has been a truly remarkable season when you look at the stats, lads.”
Having broken several records en route to Rangers’ drought-breaking league title, it was almost inevitable Gerrard would be linked with Premier League jobs the following season.
talkSPORTGerrard lost four of his first six encounters with Celtic, only to win five of his next six[/caption]How Gerrard responded to links with Newcastle United vacancy
Some links were more flimsy than others, but there seemed to be something different about murmurs surrounding Gerrard and Newcastle, who had just been taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Incumbent Magpies boss Steve Bruce hadn’t exactly set the world alight at St James’ Park and the new owners wanted a sexier name in the dugout, with Gerrard reportedly on their shortlist of replacements.
Yet Gerrard refused to entertain such speculation.
“I’m in a very big job, a very big role, which I’m very much focused on,” Gerrard said in October 2021.
“I don’t react or get involved in any speculation, especially when someone I have the utmost respect for is sitting in that job. Steve is a great character, someone I’ve got a personal relationship with.
“Sitting in this position, I wouldn’t like people to speculate about my job, so I certainly won’t be getting involved in speculation towards his.”
talkSPORTThe 45-year-old wasn’t in the mood to entertain speculation linking him to Newcastle[/caption]Bruce was soon relieved of his duties at Newcastle, an act which only added fuel to the fire that were the Gerrard links.
However, when asked again about the rumours about a switch to Newcastle following Rangers’ 2-0 Europa League win over Brondby, Gerrard provided a snappier response.
“Do I look happy? Do I look settled?” Gerrard said.
“Don’t ask me silly questions then!”
Newcastle ultimately appointed Eddie Howe, who remains in charge to this day.
As for Gerrard, it was less than a month from proclaiming he looked ‘settled’ before he decided to jump ship and join Aston Villa after they had sacked Dean Smith in November 2021.
Villa paid approximately £4m in compensation to bring Gerrard over from RangersGettyHow did Gerrard and Rangers perform after the Liverpool great’s exit?
However, the switch to the West Midlands proved to be an ill-fated one for Gerrard as he lasted only 40 games before being sacked.
Gerrard’s next managerial stop was at Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq, but that too didn’t necessarily end on his terms, as a mutual termination of his contract was agreed last January.
As for Rangers, they have churned through four permanent managers since Gerrard’s departure, none of which were able to win the league title.
However, the Light Blues have brought in silverware in the form of the 2022 Scottish Cup final and the Scottish League Cup in December 2023.
Rangers came agonisingly close to adding the Europa League to the trophy haul, only to lose via penalty shootout in the final to Eintracht Frankfurt in May 2022.
Despite the winding paths undertaken by Rangers and Gerrard in recent years, the romance enjoyed for just over three years could be rekindled once more.
Gerrard left Villa after just 40 games, losing 19 of themGETTYtalkSPORT understands Gerrard is Rangers’ top candidate to succeed Martin, on the caveat the Liverpool hero is interested in a return.
Does Gerrard want to return to management?
Although Gerrard hasn’t explicitly expressed his desire to return, he cited in the latest episode of the Rio Ferdiand Presents podcast he had ‘unfinished business’ as a manager but it had to be the right opportunity.
“I haven’t been ready because I haven’t got that [coaching] team set around me. And the timing hasn’t been right,” Gerrard said.
“My daughter’s just had a baby. I’ve just become a grandad. I wasn’t ready. I haven’t got my staff ready.
“So unfortunately, those opportunities 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.”
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