Jermain Defoe, an ex-Rangers favourite, has revealed that he would love a return to Ibrox after holding covert talks about a possible return last year
The former Ibrox striker was part of Rangers’ last Scottish Premiership-winning squad in 2021, scoring 32 goals in three seasons at Govan. He left the club to return to Sunderland in January 2022, retiring shortly after, and believes it has been difficult to see his former club struggle since his departure.
“I feel like it’s obvious that something needs to change,” the actor remarked. “The players should try to find their form. The players must find some type of consistency. People expect them to win certain games, and you might make mistakes if you don’t approach them with the appropriate mindset, like happened last season. When you look at the points the Rangers dropped last season, they were games that you would expect them to win handily.
“If you speak to any Rangers fan or ex-player, and to be honest, it has been difficult to watch. We won the league when I was the player-coach, and when I departed, the boys came very close to winning the Europa League. I looked at it and thought they’d be good to go the next season provided they kept the core of good young players and experience and added a couple more. But it has actually gone the opposite way, and that has been difficult to see.”
Defoe, 42, was most recently the under-18s coach at Tottenham Hotspur, where he worked for former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou. Defoe, who left the North London club in July, is keen to advance his coaching career and admits he would welcome a return to Rangers if the opportunity arises.
“I try to watch each game. I go to Glasgow pretty often and speak with some of the boys,” remarked the former England international. “If I had the option to return to Rangers at some point, it would be an easy decision because it is such a fantastic club, and I feel like I have a particular relationship with the fans. I spent a lot of time chatting with Steven Gerrard and Michael Beale about coaching, especially during lockdown, when we didn’t play.
“Even if you’ve played at the highest level for 20 odd years, there’s no guarantee you’ll be a good coach. You have to complete the classes and learn as much as possible. I’m very glad I did the academy stuff at Tottenham; I learned a lot about things I didn’t even know existed. I began my coaching badges with Rangers and then earned my A-license while at Tottenham.”
In an interview with Gambling.com, he stated: “I’ve had numerous conversations with clubs. I spoke with Rangers last year and informed them that I would love to return to the football club in some capacity.”
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