Steven Gerrard 'wants' Rangers return as Celtic flop and ex Liverpool pal offers summer solution

The ex Light Blues boss is out of work after leaving Saudi Arabia and his old club are on the lookout for a new boss

Ex Celtic loanee Stephane Henchoz is convinced his old Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard would be up for an emotional Rangers return.

The Swiss stopper made a return to his old Parkhead stomping ground to watch Brendan Rodgers’ side defeat Young Boys in the Champions League and after being impressed by the Hoops admits there is a huge job needed at Ibrox to close the gap to their rivals. Henchoz had a short spell at Celtic after six years at Anfield where he played alongside Gerrard.

And he is in no doubt that the available England and Liverpool legend heading back to Ibrox, where he won the Scottish Premiership title in 2021, would be a shrewd move. The 50-year-old, capped 72 times for Switzerland, said: “Steven Gerrard going back to Rangers would 100% make sense, he delivered at Rangers during his first spell and I think the fans would be pleased.

“You’d have to ask him but I have the feeling that he wants to go back there because of how well it went and how much he was loved.

"At the moment the club are in a very difficult situation, Barry Ferguson has come in as caretaker manager, we will have to see how things go until the end of the season. Steven Gerrard would be a very good solution for the summer.

“At the moment Celtic are far away from Rangers, I was there to see them play Young Boys in the Champions League and they played great football, had great movement and they have great technical players. That’s enough to win the title in Scotland. I was surprised at how well they did in the Champions League.

“They have struggled in the past but qualified quite comfortably and then almost took Bayern Munich to extra time in which anything could’ve happened. I’ve been really impressed with Brendan Rodgers and at the moment, they are far ahead of Rangers.”

Henchoz, speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Cheltenham betting, Henchoz said: “For my move to Celtic, the timing was right because I needed to move on from Liverpool, but I also had the opportunity to play for five or six Premier League clubs.

"I spoke with the manager at the time, Martin O'Neill, I had heard a lot of great things about him, I thought why not? I thought I might stay another season and play in the Champions League for Celtic but it didn’t work out. I take full responsibility for that.”