Rangers boss Steven Gerrard will 'definitely' be next Liverpool choice

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard “will definitely be Liverpool's next choice” according to Glen Johnson.

The Ibrox boss emerged as favourite to replace Juren Klopp at Anfield earlier this week if the German was to exit.

Liverpool have struggled in the Premier League leading to speculation.

Gerrard poured doubt on such a move anytime soon, although he admitted that it would be a “dream” to manage the club where he is a legend.

He told ITV News: “Is it a dream for me to one day be the Liverpool manager? Yes, it is, but not yet and who’s to say I’ll ever be good enough.”

Johnson, a team-mate of Gerrard at Liverpool and for England, reckons it is a certainty that the Rangers boss will return to his Anfield as manager.

‘A one-off’

"Gerrard will definitely be Liverpool's next choice,” he told CheltenhamGuides.com. “He’s a one-off legend at the club and a legend of the game.

"He’s been fantastic at Rangers, but he’s a very, very young manager and that seat at Liverpool is just different. It’s a global job where there are no hiding places and he won’t want a replica of Frank Lampard’s situation when he went to Chelsea a bit too early and you have to be careful for what you wish for.

"Klopp has been unbelievable so there is no chance that he won’t be there next season but I do think Stevie will be the Liverpool manager one day, but I wouldn’t start talking about that now just because they’ve lost a few home games.

“It’s a difficult decision for the club because they already have a world-class manager and will probably bounce-back, but there’s a time down the road when Stevie will definitely be the manager, but you don’t want to rush into it because he’s a club legend.

“Stevie has been doing a great job for a long time and hasn’t just got results in the last few weeks or months. I think it’s bad timing for Klopp’s sake because Stevie is on the way up and the side are struggling at the moment. We cannot forget just how good a Klopp has done, it’s been phenomenal, he’s going to be there next season and they will finish in the top four next season.”

‘All about timing’

Johnson reckons Gerrard can be more patient with regards to the possibility of managing Liverpool due to his success at Rangers.

“They’re [Gerrard and Lampard] both very young in their managerial careers, but the problem with managerial jobs is that the door only opens a certain amount of times a year, so it’s all about timing.

"Lampard had to take that Chelsea job because that door might not have opened again for the next 10 years, so he had to take it and it was just unfortunate about the timing.

"Whereas with Stevie, he can be a bit more patient because he’s gone to Rangers and done very well and doesn’t have to go to Liverpool right now because they’ve got a good manager and the club is long-term on the way up and he’ll get his opportunity to go there sooner rather than later.”