Lawrie Sanchez watched a young Steven Davis tear it up on a Northern Ireland training pitch and knew he had a serious leader on his hands.

So much so, in fact, that Davis was handed his first cap and then, naturally, the captain's armband a short time later. The strong, silent type on the pitch, the Rangers midfielder has proven himself to be one of his country's greatest ever players.

Which has come as little surprise to his former manager. Shouting and screaming is not Davis's style, instead he leads by example with solid performances on a consistent basis. An aspect of his game that Sanchez claims he has always had. One that has made him the top star he is and has helped him have the stellar career he has had.

"It's no surprise to me that he became such a top player, I'm just sorry I didn't work with him longer," Sanchez said. "I remember taking him and Chris Brunt to Azerbaijan because we'd seen them in training and they were touted as good prospects.

"We brought them across and they trained with us, we took them with us but they didn't even sit on the bench. The bench was only five but for a get together you needed 22. It wasn't long after that Steven made his debut for me. I made him captain because he was clearly the best player there, and he was the youngest captain for Northern Ireland.

"He is one of those captains that people understand because of what he does on the pitch. It got him out of his shell a little bit and he led a bit more than perhaps I thought he would do, off the field as well. He was quite a quiet lad back then. I never saw him as a vocal guy but his leadership was based on ability, you could see that."

Davis has outlined his hopes to go into management upon his retirement and stated that his dream would be to sit in the dugout at Ibrox as the home boss. The 35-year-old also spoke of his desire to eventually take on the role of head coach for his country.

Sanchez believes his former skipper has as good a chance as any when he does decide to hang up his boots. Though he has issued a word of warning for the Northern Irishman. He reckons Davis may have to take the long way round.

"I'd imagine, having the career he's had, that he'll want to have a go at management," Sanchez added. "It's very difficult to say about players going into management, there are so many great players who go on and don't make great managers. Steven certainly has all the credentials to make a decent fist of it.

"He's the most capped player in Northern Ireland so if in some time in future he's not given the chance to become their manager, there will have been something wrong. Likewise with Rangers. There does seem to be a big thing right now, though, against players being managers. There's a big anti-player thing in football, surprisingly.

"If you look at jobs held from manager upwards, there's more and more people from outside of football doing those jobs. Chief scouts, technical directors, chief executives. You don't see too many ex-players there.

"I like players involved in football clubs, Bayern Munich for example is run by former players, from the manager to the chairman. They run it efficiently and I don't think it's any coincidence. Players who have done great things at a club, I always like to see them being given the chance to become manager of their club, if they've done the work. To be given the Rangers job is a big first job, it would be hard for Steven to get that sort of job without a lot of background work. So where his first job might be will be interesting.

"He could go in as an assistant somewhere and work his way through that route. Or go and manage a club lower down the leagues. But I have no doubt, long-term, that if he proves himself then the Rangers job will have a good man in charge if he was to get it."

Davis has enjoyed two spells at his boyhood club, so it is little wonder he has spoken of taking charge one day. And he would be in good company in terms of players who have donned both a club's jersey and club's crest, stitched into a club's suit.

Kenny Dalglish managed Liverpool, Kevin Keegan did it at Newcastle, even Sanchez played for and managed Northern Ireland. Davis, Sanchez says, could easily join that list - though he would have to be able to deal with the pressure that comes with it.

He added: "Going back to an old club, it can be difficult because you have already built up a relationship as a player. You would obviously hope that you'd be given the benefit of the doubt, maybe, when things maybe aren't quite working out.

"Ultimately, though, I don't think whatever you do as a manager detracts from what you did as a player. You look at Kenny Dalglish, he's been sacked by Liverpool but that will never ever take away what he did at the club. I think they are two separate things.

"It can help you get in the job, it can get your foot in the door maybe and can sometimes even buy you a bit more time in the job. But at the end of the day, people will forget what you did as a manager and fondly remember what you did as a player."