Steven Gerrard appears to have missed out on a managerial opportunity after his Saudi exit.
Gerrard guided the Gers to an unbeaten Scottish Premiership season in 2020/21, before succeeding Dean Smith as Aston Villa manager back in November 2021.
Following 13 wins in 40 matches whilst in the Villa hotseat, he left Birmingham after 11 months to head over to Saudi Arabia.
After initially signing on until 2027, Gerrard recently departed Al-Ettifaq – with the club languishing in 12th place.
After arriving back in England, the former Rangers man had been linked with a surprising switch to EFL club Carlisle United (via the Daily Mail) – that move however now seems off the cards.
Carlisle United appoint Mark Hughes after Steven Gerrard rumours
Just days after Gerrard left Al-Ettifaq by mutual consent, Carlisle’s American owners were reportedly desperate to land the Liverpool legend as their new boss after his Saudi adventure was cut short.
Carlisle however have opted against appointing Gerrard, deciding to hand the job to former Man United legend Mark Hughes instead.
Having managed a host of Premier League clubs and over 500 matches in England’s top tier, it seems like Carlisle felt safer appointing the experienced Hughes
What next for Gerrard after Saudi exit?
Whilst Gerrard’s time in the Middle East is over, there should be no immediate rush to get back into management.
A few EFL vacancies have come and gone since his time at ‘The Commandos’ came to a close.
Mike Dodds was appointed Wycombe Wanderers boss (after Matt Bloomfield left for Luton), Steven Schumacher took charge of Bolton Wanderers and now Mark Hughes has been named Carlisle United manager.
Former Three Lions colleague Frank Lampard appears to be getting a tune out of Coventry City, but his career in management has been a rough ride after spells at Everton and Chelsea for a second time.
A Rangers return was pretty much eliminated the minute that Philippe Clement appointed Isamme Charai as his new assistant manager. So if an opportunity arises that Gerrard fancies then great, but hopefully he weighs up the pros and cons before making a success of it.
