Can’t argue with that.
Jurgen Klopp spent much of his press conference, ahead of Liverpool’s game with Stoke, answering questions about Steven Gerrard.
The former Reds captain is currently coaching the Liverpool U18s but speculation has been rife that he is about to be announced as the new Rangers manager.
Graham Murty has been holding the reins at Ibrox since Pedro Caixanha was moved on but Rangers have failed to put a serious dent in the title or cup ambitions of rivals Celtic. Gerrard has been up to Ibrox for work-related visits and Rangers chairman Dave King was spotted at Anfield during Liverpool’s 5-2 bouncing of Roma.
The latest reports, from The Daily Mail, suggest Gerrard is close to being announced and that former Liverpool teammate Gary McAllister will join him as assistant manager.
Asked about the possibility of Gerrard moving from from his coaching duties at Liverpool, Klopp said:
“I can imagine that clubs are interested in signing Stevie. [He has] massive experience as a player and now a year as a manager. I would think about him as well if I owned a club. That’s pretty normal.
“One day it will happen, either here or somewhere else. It’s his decision. He is old enough to decide things like that. The only thing I can say is that we would support him in all directions.”
Klopp noted that Gerrard has done well to get decent performances out of his young squad after a tough time, earlier this year, when several top players were either loaned out to gain first team experiences in the lower divisions or – like Conor Masterson and Rafa Camacho – called up to the senior squad.
Klopp did list the two, perfectly reasonable, conditions where he, as Liverpool coach, would not be willing to offer Gerrard much support or advice.
“If he wants to do something different – a really big if – we would be completely happy for him and support him,” he said.
“As long as he’s not the Everton or Manchester United manager, we would still help him if he has questions! There’s absolutely no doubt about that.”
We can’t imagine Gerrard will be pitching up at Goodison Park or Old Trafford as boss any time soon.
