Ally McCoist Backs Steven Gerrard for Middlesbrough Job After Rangers Snub

Former Rangers striker Ally McCoist has endorsed Steven Gerrard as the ideal candidate for the soon-to-be vacant managerial position at Middlesbrough, only weeks after the former Liverpool captain turned down the opportunity to return to Ibrox.

Current Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards is widely expected to depart in the coming days to take over at Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the Championship club already assessing potential successors. Gerrard, who has been without a role since his spell at Al-Ettifaq, has been tipped as a leading contender.

Speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist expressed confidence that Gerrard would be a strong appointment for the Teesside outfit, who currently sit second in the Championship, just behind Coventry City.

“I think his next job — and he will get one — has to be absolutely the right one for him,” McCoist said, when asked whether any of the vacancies in England’s second tier might attract Gerrard.

“Between Norwich and Southampton, both are struggling at the moment, but if you’re asking me which one I’d take, it would be Middlesbrough all day.

“I think they might go for him, you know? Because what you’ll get with Steven is a really hungry man. I’m not saying it’s the last chance saloon, but it might be close — he needs to get this one right.”

McCoist added that Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson, known for his measured approach, could see Gerrard as a calculated risk worth taking.

“Anybody in management is a gamble, a complete gamble,” he continued. “But Steve Gibson, who’s a very intelligent man, will weigh it all up. He’d look at Steven and say, ‘Maybe, just maybe.’”

After Gerrard rejected Rangers’ approach to become head coach, the Glasgow club turned their attention to Kevin Muscat of Shanghai Port, before ultimately appointing Danny Röhl as Russell Martin’s successor.