Steven Gerrard reaffirms 'dream' to manage Liverpool in the future

Steven Gerrard has once agains said it would be 'a dream' to manage his boyhood club Liverpool one day, though he was quick to stress he doesn't see Rangers as a stepping stone to bigger things.

The former Reds captain has been at the helm of the Scottish Premiership leaders since June 2018, overseeing a dramatic transformation in the club's fortunes.

Rangers are currently top of the Scottish top flight, 16 points clear of their nearest challengers and Old Firm rivals Celtic, though Gerrard has conceded he would love to manager Liverpool at some point in his career.

When asked about the prospect of managing the Anfield outfit, Gerrard told The Athletic: “I get asked this question a lot and, for me, what will be will be. Would I love to be the coach of Liverpool one day? Is it a dream? Of course.

"It’s a club that means everything to me but we’ve one of, if not the best, managers in the world who has been absolutely incredible since he came through the door and the success he’s delivered in the last couple of years means that Liverpool are in a fantastic place. Long may that continue.

“The club have been absolutely amazing with me throughout my playing career, I still watch all of the games, my relationships are still very strong, I’ve still got ex-team-mates playing in the team and that’s where it is. There’s nothing else to really discuss on it.

“The people who say that… who knows? It’s very difficult to predict the future. Just because I was a good player for Liverpool and had the career I had there, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re next in line to be manager. You know and I know, if one day that job ever becomes available, there will be a queue a mile long, full of top-class managers. It doesn’t mean you’re the best person for the job.”

Despite admitting of his desire to one day return to Anfield, Gerrard was quick to stress that he doesn't see his current job as a stepping stone to bigger things, and was unsure when asked how long he intends to be in management for.

“Who knows. I’ve got no targets, no plan in terms of how long I want to do it for," he added. "But this is no stepping stone for me. I’ve got no plan beyond this contract. I haven’t got my eyes on anywhere else. I’ll be judged on success and I’ll probably make decisions depending on how it goes.

"At the moment, we’re all aligned here. I’m really settled and content. I enjoy it. The day I don’t I’ll be honest and open and probably decide to do something else.”

Eyebrows were raised when Gerrard was named manager of Rangers two-and-a-half years ago considering the magnitude of the job and his lack of managerial experience.

Despite the enormous challenge of managing a club like the Scottish Premiership outfit, the rookie boss has excelled this season, and he admitted a number of top managers have offered him guidance.

“I’ve bounced quite a few things off Walter Smith since I’ve been up here,” he says. “He comes in to see me quite a lot. Ex-players pop in now and again. I talk to the Jamie Carraghers of this world.

“And Jurgen Klopp is on the end of a phone. If I call him and say, ‘What do you think about this or that?’, I know for a fact I’d get an honest opinion. Not because I’m Steven Gerrard, but because he actually does genuinely want to be a support for me, which is a great place to be in.”

Having never won the Premier League as a player, Gerrard is on the verge of notching his first ever league title with Rangers, and he conceded the pain he felt having come so close with the Reds has definitely spurred him on.

“Yes, it’s definitely a motivation," he added. "Having that happen and how it happened towards the end of my Liverpool career was a real, brutal low for me. As a group and a team and a club, it was a big disappointment because we came so close.

"The fact they’ve won the title since then and are current champions — which is fantastic for me to see — has certainly helped the healing, but from a personal point of view, having a big high as a coach and manager would certainly contribute to that healing as well.”