Jermain Defoe lets Rangers reunion hint slip as Steven Gerrard ally reveals what's really been missing

Defoe has made it clear he wants to go back to Ibrox at some point and has dropped yet another hint

Jermain Defoe appears to have dropped a hint he could be in line for a return to Rangers – just a month on from revealing his burning desire to go back to Ibrox for a second spell on the backroom team.

Reports are rife that, if Steven Gerrard is named the new manager at Ibrox, he wants Defoe, who he took to the club as a player in 2020, to be part of his new look coaching team.

We understand former England coach Steve Holland is under consideration, but there would be other spots to fill with the likes of Defoe, Gary McAllister and Steven Davis all mooted for key roles.

He's made it no secret in the past he's keen on a move back to Ibrox, and a post shared on his Instagram account – showing a retro Rangers tracksuit and captioned 'WATP' – has made it clear the club are still very much on his mind.

Speaking in an interview last month, shortly before Russell Martin was dismissed, he opened up on his longstanding desire to get back involved with things at Rangers. And a move for his old manager, who is in the UK for talks with Ibrox chiefs over the weekend, might just give him chat chance.

Defoe said: "I tried to go back in the summer. I’ve done all my coaching badges, and I’d love to be in the club in some capacity. I understand what it’s like, I’ve won a league title there - it’s just one, but I get it.

"When you talk about recruitment, I felt like at the time (under Steven Gerrard), the club recruited well.

"Steven was clever the way he did it. It was a good mix. You had the younger players. You had the boys who were Rangers fans, those who understood what it took to play for that football club.

"Then he brought in the likes of myself and Davo [Steven Davis], obviously Greegsy [Allan McGregor]. I remember speaking to Stevie over the summer and asking who we needed to get in? I phoned Joe Aribo and told him he needs to come.

"We thought who's the young talent out there that can come in and bring a little bit of quality? Then he went and got Glen Kamara. I just felt like there was a good mix with the senior players, the players that were there, and some young players.

"We had a really tight group, really close, and we just had that belief that we could just win every game. We managed the changing room, so Stevie didn't even have to do that.

"You had the players that have been there already, that had won loads of league titles there, plus the senior boys had come in. We made sure the standards were just kept every single day when we trained.

"Rangers are missing that. When I look at the team and the squad, I just feel like you're missing those characters. Obviously, Tav’s there, and he will do that. But you need more than one.

"You need at least five or six in a leadership group that will manage the changing room. Because it can become a difficult place if you're not winning games."

Meanwhile former flop Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has warned Gerrard to 'never go back where you were happy' with the Liverpool legend deep in talks over a return to the hotseat at Rangers.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, the well-travelled coach said: "We have an expression in Portugal, 'Never come back to a place that you were happy'. There are some situations when you come back to a club where you were really happy five or so years later and it can work.

"Jose Mourinho did it at Chelsea, for example. With Gerrard, he knows the club better than me. He spent more time than me there. He's British. He's someone who is identified by Rangers fans as a winner, and blocked Celtic's 10-in-a-row. He is identified as having success in the near past.

"I think he can do OK if he returns. But in the end, football is about players. And I don't think Rangers have the players at this moment in time that can compete at the level Rangers demand. So the problems do not only lie with the manager."

Click here to read article