It would be an appointment that makes sense. That’s the message from former Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield, who believes Steven Gerrard is the standout choice to lead the club into a new era under incoming owners Andrew Cavanagh and the 49ers Enterprises Group.
Arfield, now at Falkirk, insists that Gerrard’s return to Ibrox should be a top priority for the new regime, arguing that the Liverpool legend’s knowledge of the club and proven ability to handle the unique pressures of football in Glasgow make him the perfect fit.
Speaking to The Daily Record, Arfield said: “I would have no reservations about bringing Steven back. As much as there were some dark times during his first couple of years in charge, I think there was an air of inevitability that it was going to click at some stage. I felt that because of the way he worked, the way he made demands of the players and the staff at the club.”
Gerrard famously halted Celtic’s push for 10-in-a-row in 2021, delivering Rangers’ first league title in a decade during his three-and-a-half years at the helm.
Arfield credits Gerrard’s squad-building approach, recalling: “I was always impressed by the way he added to the squad. Bit by bit, the group got stronger and stronger and that culminated the year we won the league with the signings of Kemar Roofe, Cedric Itten and Leon Balogun.”
However, frustration followed when the club failed to build on that success. “The frustration the following season was the fact we didn’t make the further signings required to move the team on again and perhaps that’s what led Steven to make the decision to leave. But I’d like to see him return,” Arfield explained.
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With Barry Ferguson currently in the dugout on an interim basis, the search for a permanent manager is underway. Arfield believes newly-appointed sporting director Kevin Thelwell should pick up the phone.
“I know that he did enjoy living in Glasgow, he enjoyed the pressure you operate under at a club like Rangers because that’s how he was raised at Liverpool. Steven gets Glasgow. He knows what is required," he stated.
Reflecting on Gerrard’s first spell, Arfield added: “The staff he had first time round – Gary McAllister, Michael Beale and Tom Culshaw – really complimented him but obviously I’m not sure whether he’d be able to get them all back on board, especially Mick. Would he want to return to a club as an assistant when he’d previously been in the top job before?”
Despite some doubts among supporters after Gerrard’s recent managerial spell in Saudi Arabia, Arfield is adamant: “But I really believe Steven would be a good fit for the new owners. He knows the club, knows the demands and how things work up here.
"There’s that old saying, ‘never go back,’ but I was inside the building when he was here and know how diligently he worked. Steven was the last man to deliver a league title so for me it would be an appointment that makes sense.”
