Exclusive: Steven Gerrard backed to take EFL job after "phenomenal" Rangers stint | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively to FLW, Lee Hendrie has been speaking on the possibility of Gerrard making a move to the EFL.

Steven Gerrard is on the lookout for his next managerial role following his January departure from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, and speaking exclusively to Football League World, Lee Hendrie believes he could be destined for the EFL.

The 44-year-old Liverpool and England legend has enjoyed mixed success since transitioning into the dugout.

He led Rangers to their first Scottish Premiership title in 10 years in the 2020/21 season, but after being poached by Aston Villa off the back of that, his time at Villa Park didn't elicit much success.

Having failed to collect any silverware from his 18 months in Saudi Arabia, Gerrard's managerial career now appears to have reached a crossroads.

"I certainly hope so" - Lee Hendrie drops Steven Gerrard, EFL role claim

In the weeks that followed his exit from Al-Ettifaq, it was revealed that League Two strugglers Carlisle United were considering making an approach for him, before ultimately appointing Mark Hughes in February.

The Cumbrians aren't the only EFL side to have been linked with Gerrard in recent times. Leeds United were touted as a potential destination in the summer of 2023 before appointing Daniel Farke, whilst Blackburn were also credited as being a possible landing spot for him following John Eustace's departure in February.

Speaking exclusively with FLW, Hendrie believes that Gerrard still has plenty of potential to be a successful manager, and feels that he could take an EFL club to the next level if someone is willing to take a gamble on him.

He said: "Will Stevie G manage in the EFL? I certainly hope so.

"I've always been a big fan of Stevie, particularly as a player and having played with him in certain teams and against him. You know he's got that way about him.

"I feel he's got bags of potential to take a club on. It didn't quite work for him at Villa, then he went over to Saudi and tried his way out there, but we've seen what he did at Rangers. It was quite phenomenal.

"So I hope so. I do feel that the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard; it's always great to see some of our English ex-players coming into the fold and proving that they can do it on the managerial level.

"So yes, I do think that eventually, he will appear somewhere in the English game. It's just for him, it's got to be the right choice, the right criteria where he's going to be able to have a bit of a budget, and take a club forward.

"I do think he's got bags of potential, and I'd love to see him back in the English game."

Steven Gerrard could be a highly shrewd gamble for an EFL club to take

As previously mentioned, Gerrard's managerial career has been far from an unmitigated disaster.

His league title win with Rangers in 2020/21 - a season in which they went unbeaten - remains the only Scottish Premiership trophy lifted by the club in the decade before his arrival, and the years since his Ibrox exit.

Taking on the Aston Villa job was a big challenge for him at that stage of his career, and his tactics and methodology simply didn't have the effect he'd desired.

His sixth-placed finish in the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season with Al-Ettifaq was the club's best league finish since the 2020/21 season, with the club having finished seventh and 11th the previous two terms.

Therefore, there are still plenty of positive signs scattered across his time in the dugout so far that he is a coach with plenty of potential, and perhaps taking a slight step backwards into the EFL will enable him to springboard his career forward once again.

He's certainly a figure that would command a lot of respect from his players, and with perhaps the spotlight not shining as bright on him, a move to the EFL could provide fertile ground for him to really begin his evolution into a top manager.