Steven Gerrard wasn't "totally" ready for the Rangers job when he accepted it, according to Jermain Defoe.

The duo worked together at Ibrox after the Liverpool legend drafted the veteran striker into his first team squad on loan from Bournemouth in just his second transfer window.

Defoe would go on to spend well over two years at Ibrox, helping the club to their 55th title success.

The pair of course had a previous working relationship together when they were teammates in the England national team setup.

Defoe now works in Tottenham's youth academy, while Gerrard is currently out of football following his sacking at Aston Villa.

Speaking in a new BBC podcast series, Defoe has been interview various guests to try and get a grasp on what it takes to become a manager.

And it was on this that he revealed when Rangers first came calling for Gerrard, the Reds hero was not fully ready to take on the role.

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Gerrard told the now 40-year-old that he wasn't sure whether or not he was ready for Rangers in 2018 after time coaching in the Liverpool academy. 

But Defoe would make the same call in those shoes. He said: "I probably would to be honest (find it hard to turn down a job if offered).

"When it's something you want and you turn it down, you might be thinking I won't get this opportunity again. I remember speaking to Steven Gerrard when he got the Rangers job.

"I was speaking to Stevie at the time and did he feel he was totally ready? Probably not, but it was too big an opportunity to turn down. How can you turn down being the manager of Rangers Football Club? I probably think on that level that if the opportunity is there, and I don't take it, it might never get this opportunity again."

Glasgow Times:

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