---
title: "Steven Gerrard explains why he avoided Rangers return"
canonical: "https://readrangers.com/2026/10/05/gerrard-ibrox-return-stance"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Graeme Hanna"
section: "Rangers News"
published: "2026-10-05T10:13:12Z"
modified: "2026-10-05T10:13:12Z"
---

# Steven Gerrard explains why he avoided Rangers return

**Steven Gerrard has explained why he stays away from the Ibrox directors’ box, and his reasoning says more about respect than distance.**

Speaking in an Open Goal interview covered by [the original interview report](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/steven-gerrard-reveals-major-reason-37733410), he tackled the Steven Gerrard Ibrox question supporters have asked since he left for Aston Villa.

Steven Gerrard led Rangers to the Premiership title in 2021 before that move south, and the club came calling again last October when Russell Martin was sacked.

He turned the job down then, a decision Jermain Defoe later [discussed in detail](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/16/jermain-defoe-details-how-boardroom-friction-prompted-steven-gerrard-exit).

What Gerrard said next explains far more than any single quote about a comeback.

It touches on Derek McInnes, old battles with Aberdeen, familiar faces in the box, and a television career he shows no sign of leaving.

## Why Derek McInnes matters to the Gerrard story

Gerrard was asked directly about Rangers’ current manager, and his answer carried genuine warmth.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for Derek McInnes. He was one of the toughest challenges for us as a group of staff when he was at Aberdeen. I hope he does well,” he said.

That respect is not sentimental. McInnes built Aberdeen into a side capable of unsettling Gerrard’s Rangers more than once, and the two coaching staffs clashed repeatedly in that period.

It was McInnes’ Aberdeen that knocked Rangers out of both cup competitions in the Scouser’s first season in Glasgow.

Gerrard’s praise also explains his caution about Ibrox visits. He does not want his presence read as pressure on whoever holds the job now. That instinct runs through everything else he said about Rangers.

## What Gerrard’s comments reveal about Rangers and his own future

Asked whether he would manage Rangers again, Gerrard did not rule it out, but he did not encourage the idea either. “Who knows? Who knows?

“What I would say is I’ve been reluctant to come up for a certain amount of time and sit in the box with a suit on, because I don’t want to disrespect any manager that’s in position,” he said.

That line matters because it shows Gerrard still thinks about Ibrox as a place that belongs to someone else right now, not as a stranger’s ground.

When he has gone back for matches, he has clearly enjoyed it.

“I loved being at the game, I loved being in the box and speaking to Andy (Halliday) and Scott (Arfield),” he said, naming two players from his own Rangers squad.

For now though, Gerrard is settled away from the dugout.

“At the moment, I’m happy. I’m doing TV for TNT. I’ve signed a new deal with TNT,” he said, pointing to a role that keeps him close to the game without the daily strain of management.

He has also spoken about life away from football. Gerrard said he became a grandad a year ago and that his family remain settled back home in Liverpool, where he is happy with the balance his current work gives him.

Michael Beale took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst at Ibrox in November 2022, one of several changes in the dugout since Gerrard left.

## The debate Rangers fans will keep having

None of this closes the door completely, and Gerrard knows it.

The Steven Gerrard Ibrox debate will not go away soon, because his “who knows” answer leaves the possibility open without promising anything.

Some fans will hear respect for Derek McInnes and see a manager who simply will not undermine a colleague. Others will hear a man enjoying life in Liverpool and TV work with TNT and wonder if Ibrox has slipped down his list.

[Our Alan Hutton analysis](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/29/hutton-no-celtic-player-makes-rangers-xi) made a similar point about how quickly Rangers fans compare the present squad to past eras, and Gerrard’s comments will feed straight into that habit.

He left Ibrox with a title and goodwill most managers never get, and turning down the job again last October only added to the mystery over what would eventually bring him back.