Steven Gerrard and the Rangers exit twist as 'do I look happy' claim made amid Newcastle go and get him pitch

Former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was given a glowing recommendation to Newcastle by Steve Bruce in the immediate aftermath of his dismissal.

The Liverpool icon firefighted rumours swirling around his future in October as he infamously answered BT Sports' Emma Dodds over links to the Toon by stating "do I look happy?" But that quip to sooth the Ibrox faithful aged badly as Gerrard was off to Aston Villa weeks later to link-up with Anfield ally Christian Purslow. And Eddie Howe then landed the Newcastle job after Unai Emery's last-gasp decision to remain at Villarreal.

And Bruce has revealed he made the case for Howe AND Gerrard to succeed him in the north east as he believed the fresh ideas the man who masterminded Rangers' title romp in the 2020/21 season was a perfect fit for Newcastle. Speaking on the “They even asked me, and I can say this on record, who I would recommend and I did recommend Eddie, and I hope Steven doesn’t mind, but I recommended Steven Gerrard too - but somebody like Eddie or Steven, young, take it on. It was difficult, really difficult and I’ve never done that before. Sort of, given up but I realised it was best for the club.”

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