Former Rangers manager attracts interest from Wolves and Southampton as he voices clear demand

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Russell Martin and Gary O'Neil were both dismissed at the weekend with their sides bottom and second bottom of the Premier League

Former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has emerged as a shock managerial candidate for two struggling sides after a weekend of wholesale changes in the Premier League.

Wolves, who sit 19th in the Premier League table, parted company with manager Gary O’Neil after a costly 2-1 defeat to relegation rivals Ipswich Town at Molineux.

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While bottom side Southampton made the decision to sack head coach Russell Martin after a demoralising 5-0 defeat at home to European hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s Stadium.

Both struggling sides are searching for a new manager to steer their teams to safety and lift morale after a string of lacklustre performances and results. The pair are hoping to appoint a new manager before the end of the month so that they can begin preparing for a crucial month of activity in the January transfer window.

As it stands, Gerrard is a rank outside of 50/1 to take the reins at Molienux, but a more realistic candidate for the vacancy at Southampton with odds of 20/1.

Steven Gerrard managerial career

Steven Gerrard, who is regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever central midfielders, stepped into the world of coaching with Liverpool’s youth academy in 2017 before starting his senior managerial career with Rangers a year later in 2018.

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At the time, the Englishmen inherited a team that had finished 12 points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in third, while also going on a seven year drought without a major trophy.

Gerrard, with the help of assistant coach Michael Beale, was able to quickly transform Rangers’ fortunes around and within one season was celebrating a return to European football and a League Cup semi-final.

Two seasons later, Gerrard steered Rangers to a first league title in a decade and an undefeated season for the first time in a century whilst setting a new British record of only conceding 13 goals all season whilst also winning all 19 games at Ibrox.

He departed for Aston Villa the following season, and initially was able to steady the ship and guide the Villans to 14th despite a mixed start to life in the West Midlands.

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However, after winning just two of his opening 12 games the following season, Gerrard was dismissed from his role at Villa Park in October 2022.

Gerrard has since managed Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq since July 2023, but has struggled to hit targets throughout both of his first two seasons in Dammam.

The Liverpool Echo understands that Gerrard is under immense pressure from local media after booing from supporters and a substandard start to the campaign. Al Ettifaq recently went on a three-month winless streak in the league which resulted in the departure of Dean Holden and the return of Gerrard’s former right-hand man Michael Beale.

His team returned to winning ways against Al-Khalljej in the final match before a six-week break.

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Prior to that long-awaited victory, Gerrard had made a clear demand of his players.

"We must improve in the league. We aim to win the next match to enter the break with high morale. It's important to build on today's performance and not feel like we've achieved perfection. We need to carry this performance into the next match.”

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