Football is a sentimental old game at times and so a return to Rangers for Steven Gerrard was always going to be floated.
Especially since the title-winning ex-Gers boss is now unattached after leaving Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq.
Rangers News understands Gerrard would be interested in coming back to Ibrox but tax issues could get in the way as he returns to work in the UK after his stint in the Middle East.
Supporters seem split on Gerrard as a managerial option with some keen on bringing back the standards he implemented first time round but others not sure about going back to a former manager.
Either way, it would seem to be a distinct possibility and there were will be plenty more said and done on the subject between now Ibrox chiefs deciding on there next man.
But if the 44-year-old is appointed, it could open up a whole other can of worms.
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Would Gerrard bring Beale back to Rangers?
Michael Beale was often claimed to be the ‘brains’ behind Gerrard’s operation at Rangers as he did a lot of work on the training pitch and a lot of tactical stuff.
But when he got the chance to the manager himself after Giovanni van Bronckhorst that theory was put to the test and failed miserably.
Beale is now not a popular man among the Rangers support because of the way things ended for him at the club.
But Gerrard took the coach he first met at Liverpool with him to Ibrox, then Aston Villa and then finally to Saudi Arabia. He’s clearly a trusted lieutenant, so would Beale be part of his coaching staff if a return is on the cards?
Alan Hutton can’t see it after being asked by Michael Stewart on the Premier Sports Scottish Football Social Club. A transcription of their conversation is below.
MS: “If Gerrard gets the Rangers job, I would be very interested to see, does he bring Michael Beale back with him?”
AH: “I don’t think he would.”
MS: “I would’ve said no up until he took him back out to Saudi just before he got the bullet.
“He can be pragmatic, but what would the Rangers support think?”
Darrel Currie then asked Hutton if the fans would care so long as the pair brought success back.
He replied: “Possibly. It’s a difficult one. It’s different being a manager and then going back to the same club and being a number two.
“Is that something he would want to do? I’m not so sure. But 100 per cent for me when Gerrard and Beale were together it was proven it worked.”
Hutton would pick Frank Lampard and doubts Rafa Benitez appointment
There was also discussion around other names for the next manager and Frank Lampard and Rafa Benitez were brought up alongside Gerrard.
Asked to pick one of the three, Hutton said: “If you’re just pressing me just to pick one I’ll go Lampard.
“He did well at Derby and then Chelsea he did well, some things didn’t quite go his way.
“I think what he’s done at Coventry, he’s done really, really well. So why not?
“The Benitez one I don’t think it will happen. Too much money.”
