Steven Gerrard faces managerial decision after being 'kicked out' of Rangers

Steven Gerrard is among the favourites to take the Rangers job but the former Liverpool star was previously "kicked out" of the Scottish club, claims their former chairman.

Gerrard is the only man since 2011 to lead the Glasgow outfit to the Scottish title, doing so in 2021, before moving on, but Dave King claims he didn't want to leave Ibrox when he did and was instead ushered out the door when he eventually took over at Aston Villa.

King successfully wrestled control of Rangers from Mike Ashley in 2015 and set them on a path which allowed them to eventually end Celtic's dominance north of the border. King had stepped down by the time they returned to the top of Scottish football, but previously hammered the board for not building on that success.

He hit out at the poor use of funds, raised from player sales, and claimed that Gerrard's exit was not all down to the man himself, claiming he wanted to stay in his post.

King previously declared: "Steven was absolutely was kicked out. I have no doubts about that. Steven did not want to leave at that point in time. He would have left, but not then. It's absolutely true that we went backwards from that point. It was the ethos, the standards, everything about the club that Steven instilled. Then we started to go down from there."

READ MORE: Steven Gerrard tipped for Rangers reunion after brutal Russell Martin sacking

READ MORE: Rangers sack Russell Martin after four months as managerial decision confirmed

Since Gerrard's exit Rangers have seen the likes of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement all occupy the dugout, but few have had any success. Russell Martin was the latest man to be given his marching orders, lasting just a matter of months having only been appointed back in the summer.

The ex-Southampton boss saw his tenure ended after Rangers were held at Falkirk at the weekend - leaving them with just one win in seven games to begin the year. As things stand they are 11 points off top spot and nine points shy of Old Firm rivals Celtic with a managerial search underway.

Gerrard is among the bookies favourites to head to Ibrox. Since leaving Rangers the 45-year-old has held two jobs - Villa and Al-Ettifaq. when he initially moved to Villa Park he picked up impressively results, but they later dipped off and he was sacked after less than a year.

In Saudi Arabia he was paid huge sums and managed to lure the likes of Jordan Henderson to the Middle East, albeit he quickly returned to Europe. Gerrard won just 23 of his 59 games and failed to take the club forward as hoped.

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