Ex-Rangers and Celtic men emerge as candidate for EPL role with manager's future 'being discussed'

After winning just four of their 34 league games this season, the English Premier League side were relegated back to the EFL Championship after just one season following a 1-0 loss to Manchester City last week, prompting the Turf Moor hierarchy to consider a change in the dugout - with Gerrard amongst the list of candidates to replace Parker in Lancashire next season.

According to a report from Alex Crook, the 45-year-old former Ibrox boss is keen to return to management, having departed Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ettifaq last January, and is open to managing in the English second tier. The last manager to lead Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title in 2020/21, Gerrard left the club to take on the head coach role at Aston Villa the following season, but lasted just 11 months before he was sacked in the Midlands.

He later confessed that he’d picked the wrong time to leave Rangers, admitting he wasn’t convinced by the club’s post-title plan, but admitted he perhaps needed more managerial experience before opting to move to the English top flight. Gerrard did hold talks over a potential return to the club in October prior to the appointment of current head coach Danny Rohl.

However, those negotiations came to a premature end after Gerrard opted to remove himself from the running to be the next Rangers manager after discussions with club chairman Andrew Cavenagh over a 72-hour period. While there were some suggestions that tax implications may have complicated a chance to return, it has been revealed that the former Liverpool hero has no ties to Al-Ettifaq, and had actually stayed on as a consultant after leaving as manager, meaning Gerrard is available to take a new role in the United Kingdom.

And that has alerted Burnley to his availability as they assess whether to dispose with Parker after an extremely difficult campaign for the Clarets. Reports claim that there’s a “strong possibility” that a new manager could take over at Turf Moor next season, with chairman Alan Pace aware of Gerrard’s availability, while he is also considering Celtic managerial candidate Craig Bellamy.

The Wales national team head coach spent six months on loan to Celtic during his playing career, and was strongly linked with the vacant managerial role to Celtic Park earlier this season following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.

He opted to remain in his current role with Wales as they targeted a spot in this summer’s World Cup. However, a playoff first round defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties put pay to those dreams, and there’s now some suggestions that he Bellamy could be tempted away from the role. No stranger to the club, the 46-year-old is a highly regarded figure at Burnley played a key role in their 2022/23 EFL Championship title winning season as assistant to Vincent Kompany.

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