Chris Sutton: Steven Gerrard will accept Aston Villa job after ‘enormous’ Rangers losses
Chris Sutton has tipped Steven Gerrard to quit Rangers if Aston Villa make an offer to hire the Ibrox manager.
Gerrard has been strongly linked with the vacancy at Villa Park after the Premier League club sacked Dean Smith on Sunday amid a rotten run of form in England’s top-flight.
According to the Daily Mail, Gerrard is Villa’s top target and they will soon approach Rangers in a bid to gain permission for talks.
Ex-Celtic and Aston Villa striker Sutton feels that a move to Villa may be too good to turn down for Gerrard as managers at Old Firm clubs usually run their course.
Sutton also pointed to Rangers’ recent financial figures when discussing why Gerrard may move on.
“If you’re asking me if he was offered the job, would he take it? I think he would,” said Sutton, as quoted by the Scottish Daily Mail [print edition, November 9, page 78].
“He’s done a really excellent job at Rangers, stopping Celtic winning ten i na row. A huge, huge deal.
“Rangers posted enormous losses just a few days ago. I just wonder… He’s been up there a long time now, three years. I think he’s done exceptionally well in Europe, if you look at his team last season I don’t think it is as good this season.
“Eventually Steven Gerrard will come down south and of course the talk is he’ll end up at Liverpool. There needs to be… I don’t want to call Aston Villa a stepping stone because they’re an enormous club, but he needs to learn his trade at a club like Aston Villa. I think, in truth, you manage Celtic, you manage Rangers, and it has a shelf life.
“I just wonder if Steven Gerrard has come to the end of his shelf life. If he’s offered the job, I’m pretty sure he’d take it.”
Here comes Sutton…
We don’t think it will be as black or white a decision for Gerrard as Sutton makes out.
Gerrard was linked with the Newcastle job and while they’re also in the relegation battle in the Premier League, the change in ownership and the sheer sums of money that’ll be involved at St James’ Park made that a more attractive job.
Newcastle are also a big club in their own right with a massive stadium and huge fanbase that spans the world.
Aston Villa are a more muted version of Newcastle but all they can say they have going for them is that they’re higher up in the league and have a better squad.
Newcastle’s future may look brighter than Aston Villa’s, while the Midlands club’s present situation probably stands out more.
Either way, both have their risks and if Gerrard wasn’t interested in the Newcastle job then why would he quit Rangers for Villa?
We feel as though if Gerrard leaves the Gers, he’ll do it during the summer and not halfway through a season in which we’re on course for a title and knock-out football in Europe.
In other Rangers news, Kieran Maguire has dropped a huge £60million financial bombshell.