ANDY HALLIDAY is confident that Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be the perfect replacement for Steven Gerrard at Rangers.

The former Dutch international is favourite to take over at Ibrox after Gerrard departed Glasgow for Aston Villa this week.

It was reported that the Dutchman held talks with Rangers in London over the weekend while fresh reports claim Frank Lampard is not under consideration.

Halliday reckons van Bronckhorst would be a good fit for his former club, but he also revealed that he would have liked to have seen ex-Rangers coach Michael Beale offered the job.

Beale will link up with Gerrard at Villa as part of his backroom staff and Halliday recognised his work behind the scenes on Open Goal.

He said: “It doesn’t matter what anyone’s CV is or what they have done in the past, any appointment is going to be a risk.

“I think Giovanni van Bronkhorst ticks a lot of boxes. He has been at the club, knows the league, he has been a success at his last couple of clubs.

“He plays a good style, 4-3-3, so it is not a massive transition coming in.

“I would have offered Michael Beale the job. His first conversation would have been with Gerrard, and he will have asked ‘do you want to come with me’.

“A big part of how well Rangers have done is about the backroom staff. Every one of them bring a different dimension to the club."

Reacting to Gerrard's departure, Halliday added: "I am shocked. All the interviews he has done he said he wasn't interested and happy at Rangers.

"One trophy in nine I thought he would want to build on that and try and improve by retaining the title, Champions League, doing well in domestic cups.

"The timing for Rangers is not great. Premier League it has to be. There is no doubt that his ultimate goal is to get the Liverpool job. He has probably looked back and thought what is my best opportunity.

"In my opinion it would be trying to retain the title at Rangers and then Champions League. He is never going to manage Champions League until he gets the Liverpool job.

"That's not where Aston Villa are going to be. Rangers were unbeaten last year they didn't need to go out and spend five or ten million.

"Everyone was talking about the business they had done saying it was brilliant. Greg Stewart left and Zungu left.

"They brought in Lundstram and Sakala on free transfers. It seems like good business really.

"If you go unbeaten do you need a pot of gold to go and spend money?"