Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard: Retirement left a ‘void in my life’…now I feel the ‘buzz’ again

Steven Gerrard has acknowledged that he could have opted for an ‘easy, comfortable life’ after bringing his celebrated playing career to a close.

But the former Liverpool captain and now-Rangers boss says he could not resist the ‘buzz’ on offer in the unfamiliar world of management.

Just a matter of months after hanging up his boots following a brief stint with LA Galaxy, Gerrard took his first steps in coaching as he returned to Merseyside.

Starting in a support role at Liverpool’s academy, the former England international went on to take up the role of U18s manager for the 2017-18 campaign.

And, after just one season in charge of the Reds’ youth team, he was poached by Scottish outfit Rangers to replace the departing Graeme Murty.

Asked to compare the thrill of playing with trying to shape the game from the dugout, Gerrard told the Daily Mail: “Very similar in terms of the beat of your heart, the buzz, the adrenaline rush.

“There's pressure. There's responsibility. But when I stopped playing, there was a void in my life.

“But I didn't see myself just having an easy, comfortable life. There's time for that. While I feel I can help players - and while there are still opportunities to have that buzz - I'm game for a challenge. I'll give it my best shot.

“I've nothing but respect for those [former players] having a go at it. They could easily have done whatever they wanted but they are football people. They loved their careers, like I loved mine.

“From leaving school at 16, my life has been about football. I want to work and it has always been about preparing for that buzz at the weekend. I don't know how this journey is going to go, but I'm hoping it will be good.”

Gerrard admits to finding the step up from youth football difficult to deal with initially - not that it would be easy to tell from his strong start to life at Ibrox.

Key to adapting so quickly, he believes, was a desire to stay true to himself.

“That was completely different to having a group of kids in front of me last year,” he added.

“It smacks you right in the face, the size of the job, when you have 25 fellas staring at you, waiting for every word that is going to come out of your mouth. Away from the cameras, it's candid and raw. I've never had any help in terms of public speaking.

“The only experience I have had is myself, as Liverpool captain, doing it off the cuff. I've never had any advice because I always wanted to be authentic and real.

“I don't want someone to change me into this spokesman with big words and try to kid people on. I'm a Scouser from a council estate. I never want to lose that because it's me. It's the reason I've gone on the journey as a player and it's the reason that I have ended up at Rangers.”

Famously demanding of his teammates as skipper of both club and country, Gerrard also believes he is benefiting from a strong understanding of what motivates young players in the modern era.

“I understand the modern player. I see the characters in my dressing room,” he continued.

“The younger ones are social-media driven, they can't wait for the next new coloured boots… football is evolving. If you want to stay involved, you have to get up to speed with it.

“I'm open to it, as long as people keep their standards and do what they have to do. I don't mind a player wearing pink boots and having lines striped all over their hair.

“As long as they give me eight or nine out of 10 on a Saturday, that's fine with me. No problem at all.”