Steven Gerrard turned down a return to Rangers as he had doubts over the club’s sporting structure.
The Gers were close to reaching a full agreement with their former boss to take over from the sacked Russell Martin.
However, Gerrard pulled out of the running to become the Scottish giants’ new boss on Saturday evening.
talkSPORT reported that the Liverpool legend was doubtful that this was the correct time to make a comeback to Ibrox.
And those doubts led to him stepping away from the recruitment process, leaving Rangers back at square one.
Now, talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs has provided some extensive further detail on why Gerrard decided against re-joining the club.
He said: “It is a bit of a surprise because Gerrard flew into London for talks and he was approached over the summer as well. In both instances, he thought long and hard and agreement was quite close.
“Then from Gerrard’s perspective, the timing wasn’t right. Some will look at that and say, if the timing wasn’t right over the summer and if the timing wasn’t right now, then why fly in and hold the talks? But that’s part and parcel.
“Sometimes with these kinds of jobs, you have to get face-to-face and understand the sporting project.
“It’s also understood that Gerrard had some reservations working under the current Rangers sporting structure, which is led at the moment by Kevin Thelwell. And also the fact that you have to come into this Rangers job with high pressure to turn things around midseason. It’s not always easy.
“So, Rangers are back to square one. I think it’s caught some within Rangers’ senior hierarchy by surprise that Gerrard kind of slept on it after talks towards the end of last week and then decided that it wasn’t right for him.
“Rangers were all in on Gerrard. So now they’re back again to the drawing board.”
Gerrard had doubts over whether his approach would match with Rangers’ structureGettyGerrard’s reservations
The former England midfielder’s doubts over Rangers’ structure are likely to have come due to a potential lack of control.
Gerrard is understood to have been very hands-on in his last spell, but this time around, things would have been different.
“I don’t think it [his decision] was anything personal against Thelwell (Rangers sporting director),” Jacobs added. “It’s just more the sporting structure.
“Steven Gerrard is looking perhaps for a little bit more autonomy. He had quite a lot of say the last time he was at Rangers.
“The same can be said to an extent during his spell at Aston Villa and definitely the case for Al Ettifaq as well. So Gerrard is very hands-on in terms of recruitment.
“Rangers’ model is maybe not seen by Gerrard as a perfect fit. So I don’t think we can say that he wasn’t sold on working specifically at a personal level with Thelwell.
Gerrard is a hands-on manager and he questioned whether that would work at Rangers nowGetty“It’s about the sporting structure and maybe Gerrard wanting a bit more autonomy, even potentially a veto as far as transfers are concerned.
“This is why you fly in for talks, because a lot of people in the last 24, 48 hours have said, if you’re prepared to jump on a plane only for the timing not to be right, then how do those things marry together?
“Sometimes you need to get face-to-face and have the sporting model and the strategy pitched to you.
“Rangers now have 49ers enterprises involved. They were not there when Gerrard was first at the club as well.
“But the club in its structure and its sporting model are very different now to when Gerrard was last at the football club.
“It’s much more collaborative now how Rangers work within recruitment and the football leadership team.
With the 49ers now involved, things have changed at Ibrox since Gerrard’s first spellGetty“He just wasn’t sold on it in the end. But the door might be still open to return one day.
“I think for Gerrard, he’s going to want to bide his time and then maybe would be more inclined to take a job over a summer when he’s got a full season ahead of him.
“It is a lot harder to dive in midseason, especially at a club of the magnitude of Rangers when they need results urgently and they have to start winning in the Europa League. Otherwise, the season could very quickly get away from them.”
Rumour mill
Alongside Gerrard’s concerns over how well he could work with the Rangers hierarchy, there have been other rumours swirling.
Gers icon Ally McCoist has discussed the reports of the 45-year-old having some tax issues that prevent him taking a job.
Having lived in Saudi Arabia for over two years as Al Ettifaq manager, Gerrard cannot move back to the UK at no cost.
Gerrard has been reported to face some tax issues if he returns to the UKGettyMcCoist said on talkSPORT: “There are rumours knocking about that he had to stay out of the country for a certain period of time, that it was going to cost him a lot of money in tax.
“I don’t know whether that’s true, but you would suggest that there’s a distinct possibility it could be the case.
“And you’re probably talking about numbers – I’m guessing here because I don’t really know.
“But if it was the case, you’re probably talking about numbers that could affect the generation of a family.
“So that would be something you’d have to take into consideration.
“If it’s a financial decision, you lose a lot of money. As I say, I don’t know, I’m guessing.”
Rohl is one of the contenders to become Rangers boss after Gerrard’s decisionPAWho are Rangers’ other candidates?
So, with Gerrard ruled out, Rangers are having to put a new shortlist of targets together to replace Martin in the dugout.
“There are a few leading candidates as Rangers try to come up with a new leading choice,” Jacobs explained.
“One is Danny Rohl. Compensation at Sheffield Wednesday is no longer an issue. You have Kevin Muscat and Derek McInnes.
“Muscat’s in China. McInnes is obviously doing really well at Hearts. They’re top of the table and Hearts would certainly fight to keep him.
“Then you have a left field choice with some suggestions that Slaven Bilic may even be under consideration.
“So things are going to move relatively fast now, because my expectation is that Rangers will want to hire somebody this week in order to have a permanent manager in place by the weekend for their next game.
“So as of Monday morning, they’re whittling down a new list to just a few candidates. I’m sure within the next 24, 48 hours, the picture as to who Rangers are going to go for, having lost out on Steven Gerrard, will be a whole lot clearer.”
Hence then, the article about inside steven gerrard s decision to snub rangers return as liverpool legend s reservations revealed was published today ( ) and is available on talksport ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Inside Steven Gerrard’s decision to snub Rangers return as Liverpool legend’s reservations revealed )
Also on site :