Steven Gerrard has revealed in an interview that he would have remained at Liverpool if the club had offered him the chance to shadow Brendan Rodgers and learn about managing a team
Steven Gerrard reveals player-coach role would've kept him at Liverpool
London: Steven Gerrard has revealed that he would not have chosen Los Angeles Galaxy over Liverpool if he was offered a role in the coaching set-up at the Premier League club.
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The former England captain insisted that he would have been an appropriate choice to fill the role of assisting coach Brendan Rodgers as well as playing for his boyhood club at Anfield.
The comments by Gerrard, who joined Los Angeles Galaxy after last season, are at odds with those of Rodgers, who said when the 35-year-old announced his departure that the midfielder was not yet ready for coaching as he was focused on playing.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers (L) gives instructions to Liverpool's English midfielder Steven Gerrard (R) on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Sunderland at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England, on December 6, 2014. Pic/AFP
Gerrard who left Anfield in May after more than 17 years and 700 matches with the the Merseyside club, said he would have accepted a bit-part role and continued into his 18th season with the Reds had he been included in the coaching set-up, which was re-jigged over the summer after assistant Colin Pascoe was sacked and first-team coach Mike Marsh was not offered a new contract.
Instead, Sean O'Driscoll came in as Rodgers' number two, while another former Liverpool midfielder, Gary McAllister, filled Marsh's role.
Gerrard, who had captained Liverpool for 12 years before his departure, said that he could have been a good squad player or a good substitute, besides receiving management experience had he stayed in the team, the Guardian reported.
The veteran midfielder ended his long association with the club, where he joined at the age of nine, by moving to the American club over the summer.