Ex-Rangers boss Steven Gerrard emerges as a shock front-runner to become head coach of Polish National team

Former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has emerged as the shock front-runner to become the next head coach of Poland’s national team following his dismissal from Aston Villa.

The Liverpool legend endured a dismal spell at the English Premier League club, winning just over 32 per cent of his 40 games in charge before he was relieved of his duties back in October after just 11 months at the helm.

It followed up a successful three-year stint at Ibrox where he guided Rangers to their first Scottish Premiership title in a decade and, in the process, prevented Glasgow rivals Celtic from winning ten league titles in a row.

A return to management could now be on the cards - but perhaps not a move that many onlookers saw coming! Gerrard has been linked with a number of vacant posts since leaving Villa Park with the most recent being the Poland national coach role.

According to Polish outlet Meczyki, the ex-England international has held talks with the Polish FA over the position following the country’s disappointing round of 16 exit at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The decision was taken not to extend manager Czeslaw Michniewicz’s contract and 42-year-old Gerrard could be set to replace him on the international scene after a spell out of football.

He could be reunited with Aston Villa full-back Matty Cash after his application to change citizenship through his mother was completed in October 2021. He has since been handed 11 caps, scoring his first goal in the 2-2 UEFA Nations League drag with the Netherlands last year.

Should Gerrard decide he does not want the stress that comes with a full-time managerial job at a club team after damaging his reputation somewhat in the Midlands, this role could serve as a means to enhance his image again and one that would also be viewed as a detour from his ambitions to succeed at the highest level.

Rangers hero Ally McCoist reckons Gerrard should turn down the positon if he’s offered it, claiming it would not be a good move at this stage in his management career.

Asked if the Poland job would be a good move, he told talkSPORT: “No, I don’t think so. Scott Parker just went to Brugge, didn’t he? I said when Frank Lampard left Chelsea that I wouldn’t have minded if he had gone to a European club. I think Steven could do the same somewhere in Europe.

“I don’t know if this is an ageist thing to say but I think he is too young to do an international job. I know Roberto Martinez did it and now he’s away to Portugal, he’s relatively young. I just think Steven would want to get back into the day to day.”