Steven Gerrard has revealed that he stays away from Ibrox out of respect for the current Rangers manager, but made an exception last month to watch the 3-0 win over Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final.
The former Rangers boss, who led the club to the Premiership title in 2021 before moving to Aston Villa, said he would never want to disrespect any Light Blues boss by attending matches while they are in charge. He noted that his former deputy Michael Beale received criticism for doing so four years ago.
Respect for Derek McInnes
Speaking on Open Goal, Gerrard said: "Who knows? Who knows? What I would say is I’ve been reluctant to come up for a certain amount of time and sit in the box with a suit on, because I don’t want to disrespect any manager that’s in position."
He added: "I've got nothing but respect for Derek McInnes. He was one of the toughest challenges for us as a group of staff when he was at Aberdeen. I hope he does well."
Gerrard, who turned down the chance to manage Rangers again in October last year following Russell Martin's sacking, said: "I follow Rangers, I follow the results. I love the club. I want Derek McInnes to be successful."
Return to Ibrox for Old Firm
The Liverpool icon made a discreet return to Ibrox last month to watch Rangers beat their arch rivals 3-0, a result that set up Derek McInnes with a reunion with his old club Aberdeen in the semi-final.
"I loved being at the game, I loved being in the box and peaking to Andy (Halliday) and Scott (Arfield)", he said. "They helped me set it up just to go in the box away and just watching a good Old Firm, and see it."
Gerrard, who also revealed he stopped Rangers from sacking a member of staff for leaking a video of their title celebrations five years ago, said he is happy with his current role: "At the moment, I’m happy. I’m doing TV for TNT. I’ve signed a new deal with TNT."
He added: "I’ve got some other bits and bobs that I do, commercial stuff. I became a grandad a year ago so I’m doing all this stuff, I’m loving being around the family, I get enough time off. I love a bit of paddle, a bit of golf. My work life balance is great."
