Rangers hero holds door open for Steven Gerrard return as perfect Philippe Clement Plan B

The door can never be closed for Steven Gerrard at Rangers - and he should be considered again if things go wrong for Philippe Clement.

That's the view of former Ibrox midfielder Pedro Mendes who reckons winning the Premiership title has earned Gerrard another crack at the job if he wants it. Gerrard famously led Rangers to the league in 2021 and it stands alone as their sole success in the last 13 years. Celtic have hoovered up the rest and three managers since Gerrard - Gio van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and now Clement - have so far failed to match his crowning achievement.

There's hope Clement might be the man to deliver it up against Brendan Rodgers this term. But the last two Rangers managers have been dismissed by the turn of the year in their first full seasons. And if Clement faces the same fate, Mendes knows where he'd be turning.

Speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest SPFL odds, Mendes said: "Steven Gerrard did a good job at Rangers so a return in the future is always possible. With the job he did in winning the title it means the door would always be open to a return later in his career.

"But at the moment the board and the fans are keen on Philippe Clement. There has been a really good feeling about him since the moment he signed and I think he needs to be allowed to prepare the team as he wants so he can win a title with Rangers."

Mendes also believes his old side simply can't afford to yield to Celtic again this season. The retired Portuguese star, now an agent in his homeland, went on: "There are a lot of things going on at Rangers at the moment with important players like Borna Barisic and John Lundstram both leaving. One thing that Rangers fans are really proud of is their history and how many