'It was tough' - Gerrard shares Rangers regret as Ibrox conversations revealed

Steven Gerrard has shared his regret over his Rangers exit and the reason why he could not continue at Ibrox.

The Liverpudlian brought the Scottish Premiership to Ibrox in the 2020-21 season, with a remarkable unbeaten campaign.

However, he departed for the Premier League with Aston Villa in November 2021, which was ultimately unsuccessful as he was sacked after 11 months in charge.

Gerrard has now opened up on what led to him leaving Govan, and the disappointment that he feels over the departure.

Rangers wanted to bring Gerrard back in October, but ultimately ended up with Danny Rohl, as the timing was not right for the 45-year-old.

What did Gerrard say about Rangers exit?

Gerrard revealed that Ibrox chiefs were not ambitious enough after his side had won the title, and that was why he made the decision to join the Villa Park side.

He claimed that he regrets leaving the Light Blues, but he did not feel that his side were equipped to win the title again.

Speaking on Stick to Football podcast on 2 April, he said: “The level was a big jump, I probably didn’t realise at the time when I made that decision.

“In hindsight again, we talk about hindsight, we’d all be great with hindsight, wouldn’t we, I would have stayed at Rangers longer, more experience, stay up there for longer.

“So I regret doing it now, sitting here, I didn’t at the time, it was tough.

“Also, the conversations with Rangers after we won it, the recruitment and the finance chats that we were having, didn’t feel like Rangers were ready to go again.

“It was a bit more of a like, ‘oh, let’s settle this and fix that and do that.’ The promises weren’t as strong as I thought they would be.”

Rangers will not be getting Gerrard back anytime soon

The Bears do not need the former England midfielder to return to the dugout anytime soon, so it is unlikely that he will come back in the near future.

Rohl is doing a stand-up job, he has his side firmly in the title contention with seven matches left to play, and has taken the most points since he stepped into the Scottish top-flight.

Therefore, the pining for a Gerrard return has died down for now and will not come back onto the agenda until his reign starts to decline, if it does at all, or if he is poached away.

Right now, though, there is no sign of that happening, and all parties are very happy with the decision made back in October.

That could change in the future, but Rohl is the right man for Rangers at the moment, and as long as he keeps getting results, that will remain the case.

Perhaps, Gerrard turning the role down may have been his final chance to get the job, and the clamour for him will not be as loud next time around due to the German’s impact.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.