Jermain Defoe 'forced' into Rangers role by Steven Gerrard as he reveals Ibrox ultimatum before exit

Jermain Defoe has claimed he was FORCED to become a player-coach by Steven Gerrard in the final days of his Rangers career.

The 41-year-old took his first steps into coaching when he was handed a role in Gerrard's management team in the summer of 2021 - shortly before the Liverpool legend left the Scottish Premiership behind for a move to Aston Villa. It left then 38-year-old Defoe in limbo when Gerrard's successor Gio van Bronckhorst ushered in a new era at Ibrox with his own backroom staff.

Defoe has revealed that the Dutchman sat him down for crunch talks following his arrival - with Defoe fully focussing on his playing career in January 2022 when he made a return to Sunderland to see out his career. The England international now has aspirations of becoming a manager while coaching in the Tottenham academy - but has claimed he wasn't ready for the move during his time at the Light Blues.

Speaking to Troy Deeney on the Football Firsts podcast, Defoe said: “Before I went to Sunderland, I hadn’t played in about two or three months. Stevie (Gerrard) went and Giovanni van Bronckhorst came in. I had a meeting with him and he basically said to me, ‘listen, what’s this player/coach thing?’.

“‘I see you in training, you’re sharp, what’s the situation? Do you want to play or do you want to coach?’

“I said I want to play. To be totally honest, I didn’t even want the player/coach role. It was forced upon me. So I decided to go to Sunderland.”