A FORMER Rangers boss has issued a warning to Steven Gerrard ahead of his potential stunning return to Ibrox.
The Liverpool legend is the frontrunner to replace Russell Martin in the Rangers hot-seat and he held talks with Ibrox chiefs over the position in London today.
Martin was sacked on Sunday after just 123 days in charge, making him the shortest-serving permanent manager in the club’s history.
Former Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha insists that the problems at Ibrox run far deeper than just the man in the dugout, though.
The Portuguese gaffer – also sacked by Light Blues chiefs after a dismal reign in 2017 – has warned Gerrard about the current playing squad in Govan, claiming they “can’t compete at the level Rangers demand”.
However, he reckons Gerrard has the quality and aura to transform the club like he did during his first stint.
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Caixinha has compared Gerrard’s Rangers return to that of Jose Mourinho when he went back to Chelsea in 2013 and lifted another Premier League title.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT at the Portugal Football Summit 2025, Caixinha said: “We have an expression in Portugal, ‘Never come back to a place that you were happy’.
“There are some situations when you come back to a club where you were really happy five or so years later and it can work.
“Jose Mourinho did it at Chelsea, for example.
“”With Gerrard, he knows the club better than me. He spent more time than me there. He’s British. He’s someone who is identified by Rangers fans as a winner, and blocked Celtic‘s 10-in-a-row.
“He is identified as having success in the near past.”
Caixinha has been unimpressed with the squad assembled by Martin and sporting director Kevin Thelwell during the summer transfer window.
Rangers signed 13 new players before the start of the new season, with Oscar Cortes’ loan also made permanent before sending him to Sporting Gijon for the season.
Caixinha continued: “I think he (Gerrard) can do OK if he returns. But in the end, football is about players.
“I don’t think Rangers have the players at this moment in time that can compete at the level Rangers demand. So the problems do not only lie with the manager.”
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