Bizarre twist in Rangers manager hunt as Steven Gerrard becomes favourite for job despite turning down opportunity to make emotional return

After a disastrous start to the 2025-26 campaign, which saw Rangers winning one out of their first seven Premiership matches, the Scottish giants parted ways with ex-MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton manager Martin, only a few months after he took charge at Ibrox. Martin, who was once considered to be a perfect fit at the club due to his ball-playing philosophy, quickly fell out of favour with the fans once the new season started. The fans wanted the manager out of the club after just one month in charge, as in September, they had publicly showcased their opposition by unfurling banners at Ibrox, displaying their wish to see the coach leave the club.   

Rangers' 1-1 draw with Falkirk just before the international break proved to be the last straw as the 39-year-old English coach was shown the door. Soon after Martin's departure, Liverpool icon Gerrard emerged as the favourite candidate to take charge of the club and return to Glasgow after four years. He even flew down from the Middle East to hold talks with Rangers officials and was in advanced talks, only to later withdraw his name from the race as he felt that the time was not right to return to football management. 

Days after turning down the offer, Gerrard has reemerged as the favourite to take charge of Rangers. According to The Sun, the former England star has become the bookie's favourite to manage the Gers. SunSport, however, also claims that despite being the bookie's favourite, Gerrard is unlikely to be in contention any more and he has already flown back to Bahrain. On Wednesday morning, Gerrard's odds were as high as 20/1 with William Hill. 

Spokesperson of William Hill, John Hill, told SunSport: "Despite ruling himself out of the job just a few days ago, Steven Gerrard has been heavily backed in our next Rangers manager market this morning. Gerrard is now just evens to return to Ibrox for a second spell in charge."

Amid the drama over Rangers' manager hunt, Premier League and Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer shared advice for Gerrard as he urged the Reds icon to ignore the football cliche. 

In a chat with Betfair, Shearer said: "I don't know Steven's tax situation with him being back in the UK and he can only answer that. There is that 'never go back' saying but if he wants to get back to management, he knows what it's like up there, he's done it and been successful before. He's a huge name in football. I don't think Celtic are that great either. Hearts are top of the SPFL at the moment so that tells you that Celtic aren't a great team either. Steven, or whoever goes into that role may fancy their chances and say it's worth the opportunity and worth going up there to compete. Rangers are miles off it at the minute and it's no surprise that Russell lost his job. The fans were going mad up there and it's not nice to see because of the human behind it and at the end of it. That's what you have to think of but you also know the score when you go into management - if you don't win games, you'll get sacked. The Rangers job will be a brilliant one for whoever takes over."

Per SunSport, former Gers star Kevin Muscat is tipped to become the next Rangers head coach. The Australian, who played for the Scottish giants in the early 2000s for a year, is poised to make a comeback after more than two decades. Former Manchester United coaches Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick are also among the contenders to take charge at Ibrox, although Muscat remains the favourite.