'Steven Gerrard is going nowhere' - Rangers boss to turn down Aston Villa claims Celtic icon
Intense speculation has continued linking the Ibrox boss with the vacancy at Villa Park, where former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow is chief executive.
The former Anfield midfielder is odds-on with bookmakers to replace Dean Smith who was sacked on Sunday, with some also opening betting markets on the next manager at Ibrox.
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Hide AdHowever Hartson, speaking on radio on Tuesday night, suggested such moves were premature and that Gerrard will remain with fans more willing to accept his eventual exit at the end of this season.
“Steven Gerrard is not going anywhere,” the Celtic icon boldly predicted. “I think he’s committed and has a bit of loyalty about him and is a man of integrity and morals and will stay at Rangers.”
"He’ll want to retain the title and then I think the fans, they wouldn’t be happy, but they would almost accept it. They wouldn’t accept it now – with what they’ve started, stopping the ten in a row and how they have gone about this season, top of the league and in the semi-finals of a cup.
“If he was to retain the title, go two in a row and maybe a cup then I think there’d be an acceptance from the fans that he’s stayed when there was pressure to leave,” Hartson told Go Radio.
“After you’ve batted the Newcastle job away, I think you do the same with Aston Villa and at the end of the season he might look to go elsewhere but my opinion – I don’t think he’ll go anywhere right now.”
