Graeme Souness has officially ruled out a return to management, despite repeated calls from Ibrox fans for him to come back to the dugout. The 73-year-old Rangers icon has faced ongoing questions about a potential comeback amid a turbulent period for the club.
Derek McInnes is the latest man in the hot seat attempting to steady the ship for the Light Blues after years of playing second fiddle to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. Diehard supporters have regularly floated the prospect of Souness making a dramatic return to the club, where he lifted three titles as a player and manager, amid a series of managerial changes in a bid to bring lasting success to the Glasgow heavyweights.
Past Talks and Takeover Murmurs
In 2023, Souness held a sit-down with former chief executive James Bisgrove, and informal discussions were held over an official return to the side he starred for and managed in the 1980s. Despite an agreement failing to come to fruition, murmurs of a return in an official capacity surfaced again last year following the American takeover.
But Souness insists he does not miss day-to-day work in football, telling The Telegraph: "That boat sailed for me. You know, I started young. I was managing in a big football club at 33 and still trying to play. I did it, I think, for 880 games as a manager. You know, that's a decent old stretch."
Why He Walked Away
He added: "And you look at the jobs I had, I never really picked too many easy options, if you think Benfica, Galatasaray, Liverpool, Glasgow Rangers, Newcastle. None of them are easy jobs. So, you know, I just had enough."
"When I look back, I think should I have changed? Should I have stayed more?' Not really. Because I got lucky and I dropped into the television world."
"I look at the television and I'm looking at people who are managers and coaches and there are occasions when I think 'Did I chuck it too soon?' But that feeling lasts for about 30 seconds. Then I think of all the aggravation you have to deal with. I don't think my personality was cut out for the modern manager's job. I believe the tail wags the dog in most cases now."
Gratitude for a Life in Football
"The only people that doesn't happen to are the teams that are super successful. The rest of the time, the players' asset value puts them in a very, very strong position. You know, in the transfer market, [the manager is] worth nothing. The player could be worth £100 million. So there is only one winner there when push comes to shove."
Despite taking a back seat from working with clubs, Souness expresses his gratitude at the chances the game has given him: "Because of football, my life has been interesting, lucrative. It's allowed me to see places and do things that a 15-year-old boy from a prefab in Edinburgh could never have dreamt of; it's gone far better than I thought it would."
"Touch wood, it still is. You know, I still love life. You know, I've said to my youngest boy, James, when I go, I want you to promise me that you won't be sad because I've lived a life that very few people have lived."
