Steven Gerrard has admitted that he has regrets not playing for Rangers or Celtic in the Old Firm derby before ending his on-field career.
Gerrard left Rangers to succeed Dean Smith at Aston Villa in November after spending three years as manager of the Scottish side. Despite overseeing Rangers’ first Scottish Premiership title win in 10 years to end Celtic’s domination of the league in the 2020/21 season, the former Liverpool midfielder was greeted with backlash from Gers fans.
The role was Gerrard’s first major one after he entered coaching with Liverpool following his retirement in 2016. The 41-year-old called time on his career after spending the 2015/16 campaign at LA Galaxy in MLS.
Gerrard has now suggested that, rather than go to the US, he should have ventured north of the border to play for Rangers or Celtic during his career swansong. “Up there, Celtic v Rangers, it’s constant. In press conferences, in the streets or the supermarket,” he told Gary Neville on The Overlap .
“It’s intense. It’s an intense rivalry and unless you are actually in it you don’t realise how intense. I can say this now because I am out of it, both atmospheres are sensational.
“Really top. I almost say to myself now, out of hindsight, should I maybe have gone up to one of them rather than go to America? But I probably went to America for different reasons. They are fantastic games to be involved in, not at the time, you just want them out of the way and you want the right result.”
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Gerrard established himself in Rangers’ folklore for overseeing an unbeaten Premiership campaign in 2020/21 to break Celtic’s stranglehold on the league. But the way he left mid-season for Aston Villa did spark a minor backlash in the blue half of Glasgow. He has now explained why he took the decision to call it a day at Rangers.
“Rangers are a fantastic club, the support I had from the fans and the board and everyone connected," he said. “I couldn’t really have asked for anymore. Okay, after we won it, maybe I would have wanted a bit more, ‘like c’mon’, to really go for it.
“Everyone had different challenges, Covid issues, and every club was the same. I totally understood it, but I am someone who very much when you achieve something it’s a case of ‘let’s go again’. Beyond that I did feel like if we were going to set a new remit then let’s go again.
“I just felt we were at a bit of a thing there. I still have a lot of respect for Rangers and the fans. But I missed the Premier League and I had been away from my family for three and a half years. I felt if we didn’t take this opportunity it might not come again.
“Look, we tried, unfortunately we never qualified for the Champions League and that’s on me. We had some issues at the time with certain players and we took some time getting in the targets that we wanted. We had to compromise a little bit. Up until I left, we left them in front and in a good place and I am sure Gio [van Bronckhorst] appreciated that squad we built. I still believe now Rangers have got a fantastic chance to build on what we did there.”
