Rangers manager Steven Gerrard’s achievement of wresting the title away from city rivals Celtic for the first time in a decade has been noted down south, as has the fact he has guided the club into the group stages at least of the Europa League in each of his three seasons in charge.
Chairmen will be looking at the work being carried out by Gerrard and he has already been mentioned as a potential target for Crystal Palace and Newcastle United, who are expected to part company with Roy Hodgson and Steve Bruce respectively at the end of the current campaign.
Ally McCoist, however, believes that Gerrard, whose stated ambition is to manage former club Liverpool, does not need to leave Rangers to pave the way for a return to Anfield and argues that remaining in Glasgow may enhance his chances of doing that more than taking the reins at a struggling Premier League club.
The Rangers legend, who also had a spell in charge at Ibrox, speaks to football people all over England in his roles working for BT Sport and talkSPORT and he is aware how highly regarded and coveted is the 40-year-old by prospective employers.
“Let’s be honest about it, he is a superstar,” he said. “The profile that he has given Rangers and Scottish football down south — and throughout the world — is absolutely massive. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Stevie McManaman; when I see the boys down there it’s the first thing that they talk about.
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“They are interested in our game and want to talk about the teams, the managers, the players, and that’s the kind of profile that someone like Gerrard gives you. I don’t think there is any getting away from it. We’re talking about one of the top English midfielders of his generation, someone with global [recognition]. For Scottish football, him being here can only be a good thing.
“Steven is now in a position where he has a big decision to make. I don’t know what he wants but I wish him well in whatever that is. I hope one day he does manage Liverpool, if that’s what he wants. If he wants to manage England then I hope he gets that wish too, but only Steven can answer that.
“Going to Crystal Palace or going to Newcastle, is that going to benefit his managerial career now? Or should he stay at Rangers? Only he can decide but whatever choice he makes, it’s a gamble.
“Timing is everything, it really is. His stock at this moment is extremely high and I would be surprised if he doesn’t stay at Rangers for the foreseeable future. I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t go straight to Liverpool [from Rangers]. Graeme Souness did it.
“I don’t see any difference going from Rangers to Liverpool or Crystal Palace to Liverpool or Newcastle to Liverpool. We’ve been down this road before. The quality of the league in England is far better but you aren’t going to manage bigger clubs than Rangers or Celtic in the UK. You look at Brendan Rodgers and what he’s doing at Leicester is incredible. He came up, did a tremendous job at Celtic, [has] gone back down and he has them in the top four. I genuinely don’t think it matters to intelligent football people. If you are doing a good job then that will be taken into account and Steven is doing that.
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“I don’t know if going to Crystal Palace and finishing 15th in the table will get you the Liverpool gig before staying at Rangers and maybe winning the title again or getting a run in the Champions League. I don’t know. But what I do know is that going to Palace would be a gamble.”
McCoist also believes this weekend’s Scottish Cup fourth-round showdown at Ibrox is an opportunity for champions Rangers to give the lie to interim Celtic manager John Kennedy’s claim that, on their day, the cup holders are the best team in the country.
“I get totally what John’s saying and he’s got to big up his team, of course he has,” McCoist said. “I would be criticising him if he’d said Rangers were the best team and Celtic were up against it. He’s stuck by his players, stayed loyal to a team who played very well at Ibrox and looked the better side for long periods last time out.
“I thought a draw was fair at Celtic Park, even though Celtic had more of the ball in better areas. So I can take his point: he’s trying to give his side a boost.
“However, from where I’m sitting, if Rangers win the league by 10 or 12 points or whatever, you have to say they’re the best team in the league and I think they’ve been the best by some considerable distance.
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“This is magic because Rangers have a real chance here. The league campaign was always the big one for Rangers — and Celtic — this year but what an opportunity for Rangers to claim the double and, at the same time, maybe put a marker down. Flip it over and, if Celtic win the game, John can think this team has a chance of winning the cup.”
