Jason McAteer believes Steven Gerrard had offers from English teams before Rangers deal

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Rangers brought in Steven Gerrard as their new manager this summer.

Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie McAteer has told The Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Rangers boss Steven Gerrard had offers from English clubs before heading to Ibrox.

With Rangers looking for a permanent manager to finally succeed Pedro Caixinha after Graeme Murty’s interim reign, they took the surprise decision to bring in Gerrard as the new manager.

Gerrard had spent just one year in coaching with Liverpool’s Under-18’s, but was thrust into the hot seat of one of the biggest clubs in Britain at a crucial time.

Celtic are hurtling towards 10 league titles in a row, and Gerrard has now been brought in to overhaul the Bhoys and bring Rangers back to their former glories in the process.

So far, Gerrard has exceeded expectations, as he has guided Rangers into the Europa League group stage after going unbeaten in his first 12 games in charge, before losing 1-0 to – you guessed it – Celtic.

There is still work to be done, but the 38-year-old has made a bright start to life at Ibrox, drawing praise from many former players – and Jason McAteer has now offered his praise for his former Liverpool teammate.

McAteer has told The Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Gerrard had offers from English clubs before choosing a move to Rangers, and believes he is now out of the English limelight having chosen a switch to Ibrox.

McAteer added that whilst Rangers have made their worst start to a league season in 29 years, Gerrard has done a great job so far, and pleaded for patience with the former England ace as he attempts to chase Celtic.

“I am sure Stevie was offered a number of jobs in England,” said McAteer. “I think without being disrespectful to Scottish football that Stevie will not be in the limelight as much. Pressure comes with the territory of being a big football name in England. Now that Stevie is in Scotland he is kind of out of the English limelight.”

“Haven’t they won one, drew two and lost one – is that a sackable offence? It probably is these days but it is not a bad record – is it? Surely Stevie is not looking over his shoulder already! Both Steven and Gary Mac have done well getting the club into the Europa League group stages. It is a tough job and for many years they have been in the shadow of Celtic. It is going to take a few years for Rangers to get back to a certain level,” he added.