Gerrard not sure he will make grade as a manager

London (AFP) – England great Steven Gerrard says that only time will tell whether he measures up as being good enough to be a football manager.

The 36-year-old, capped 114 times and a rampaging midfielder in his pomp, begins his new career in February as a youth coach at his beloved Liverpool, who hired him earlier this month.

Gerrard, who won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup and three League Cups but never the Premier League title with Liverpool, turned down an offer from third-tier MK Dons for him to become their manager last November.

He thought it was too soon to launch himself into managing a club.

“There’s no rush, no timescale,” said Gerrard, who is working towards achieving his UEFA A coaching licence, which would allow him to manage a Premier League club.

“The silly thing for me would be to rush and go in when I’m not ready. I’ve got incredible people around me and hopefully in the future there’ll be some exciting opportunities.

“I’ve a lot of dreams and aspirations to be the best I can be in terms of coaching and management, but we’ll have to wait and see if I’m going to be good enough.”

Gerrard, who finished his playing career in the MLS with LA Galaxy, said his reason for taking the role with Liverpool was because of his strong attachment to the club.     

“With me and Liverpool there will always be an emotional pull,” he said.

“But the decision to go back as a coach and what that entails, I couldn’t really make that decision on sentiment or emotion because I’d have been doing it for the wrong reasons.”

Gerrard, who made over 700 appearances for Liverpool in his 17 years there, said he feels a mixture of emotions as his first day approaches. 

“I’m very excited but at the same time a little bit nervous and a little bit anxious because it’s a brand new role, one that I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into.”