Vulnerable Steven Gerrard truth about stress and 'not wanting to be in work' jars with Rangers blockbuster return
The 44-year-old is is the red-hot favourite to retake the reins at Ibrox despite his recent candid admissions
Honest Steven Gerrard confessed two months ago he was glad to be out of the cauldron of management as he is locked in talks over a stunning return to Rangers.
The 44-year-old is the red-hot favourite to retake the reins at Ibrox after previously spending three-and-a-half years in the Rangers top job.
Gerrard, Russell Martin and Davide Ancelotti have been among the leading contenders and it's understood the new Ibrox era will truly begin with a boss appointed this week.
The Liverpool icon is aiming to rebuild the reputation he earned north of the border after successive missteps with Aston Villa and Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.
But Gerrard bared his soul on pal Peter Crouch's podcast in March and admitted he was glad to be out of the firing line and admitted being a manager has never been able to fill the void left by his legendary playing career.
Speaking eight weeks ago, Gerrard said: "I don’t want to be back in work mate, no. I’m happy with waking up and being free, doing the family stuff, just being free away from stress.
“I will go in at some point but when it’s round the clocks, I’ve doing it 18, 19 months, I want to be free, I want to play a round of golf, go down the boozer and have a couple of beers, do normal things that you can’t do when you’re coaching
“The next big draw is to get in the dressing room with the lads (charity match with Liverpool legends vs Chelsea), run it back, obviously you can’t run as fast, and the intensity is not the same, but to have a game of footy with your mates is the draw.
“I’ve just travelled seven hours to do this, that’s why I come back to play at Anfield, full house, see the lads, have a game of footy, great craic.
“I love it you know, I miss it everyday and I speak to Carra and he goes, ‘I was made up, I hated the last few years’ I miss it every day, every single day.
“I would love to go back and run it back (being a player)
“To be honest, ‘coaching and management, it’ll fill the void, blah blah’ it doesn’t, it’s not the same.
“It’s a great job to be around, but in terms of the buzz, I didn’t appreciate it enough.”
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