Steven Davis still harbours Rangers manager dream as fairytale Ibrox reunion rumours set straight

Daily Record

a day ago

The Northern Ireland number two had a brief stint as Gers interim boss in 2023
Steven Davis has come to terms with the fact he didn't get to wave goodbye to Rangers with his boots on.
But the former Light Blues skipper isn't ready to give up yet on his dream of stepping back over the Ibrox threshold one day wearing a pair of managerial brown brogues.
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It's two-and-half years since the Northern Irishman kicked his final ball for the club he loves. A freak ACL tear suffered in training just before Christmas 2022 ended what was a glittering playing career for club and country.
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Despite the four-time Scottish title winner's best efforts, there was no fairy-tale comeback nor a chance to bid farewell to the Gers support from the pitch he had graced so elegantly over two spells in Glasgow.
That might have stung the 40-year-old once upon a time but these days he's accepted the rotten luck that brought the curtain crashing down on his spell as British football's most capped player ever.
Now working as an assistant to NornIron boss Michael O'Neill, he's looking to the next stage of his career. He's already had the briefest of tastes of what it would be like to manage Rangers having been drafted in for a two-game stint as Ibrox caretaker in October 2023 in between Michael Beale's sacking and the appointment of Philippe Clement.
And that's only fired his desire to get back to Govan and take the acclaim of the Light Blue legions, this time as boss himself. Looking back on the end on the injury that ended his career, Davis said: 'To be honest, I've got over it.
'You try to put a different spin on it. For me, I was very fortunate throughout my career not to have major injuries, and that allowed me to play to the level I did until the age I was.
'Of course, in an ideal world, I would liked to have said my goodbyes in a different way and have that decision being my own.
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'But that was taken away from me. I tried my best to try and get back, but I never felt I would go back to the level I would be happy with.
'So ultimately, the decision was made, and I was kind of at peace with that, but of course it would have been lovely to have a send-off on the pitch rather than do it on the sidelines.'
The sidelines is now where he sees his future - and hopes he'll get to perch himself on the whitewash marking off the technical area at Ibrox. The WhatsApp rumours that swept Glasgow last month suggested that dream was set to take a step closer, with Davis apparently lined-up to return as No2 to Steven Gerrard.
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The gossip proved false in the end as Russell Martin got the call to replace Clement. But it's undeniably true that Davis sees his future back at Rangers.
'There was never any contact, to be honest,' responded Davis as he was quizzed on the Gerrard whispers. 'Obviously, I was getting a lot of messages and everybody thought it was a foregone conclusion, but that's the rumour mill, isn't it?
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'For me, obviously, the club means so much to me. I've got great memories from my time there. It's hard to envisage that I'll not be back at some point in the future, but you just never know in football.
'I'd like to assume that will be the case but at this minute in time, that's not an option, so we'll see what the future holds.
'Is that still the dream? One hundred percent. I think it's the same as when I was a kid.
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'Obviously, I grew up a Rangers fan and got to play for the club. The ambition was to make just one appearance. Obviously, my career involved much more than I could have ever have envisaged.
'But at this minute in time, I'm at the starting part of my journey as a coach.
'I've been involved with Michael and the Northern Ireland team, which has been really good for me. I'm doing my badges as well, so that's just part of the process. But we'll see what the future holds.
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'Ultimately, one day it would be great to be step back into Ibrox as manager.'
Davis's short stint in charge involved a Europa League defeat to Aris Limassol and win over St Mirren. It didn't last long but it was a valuable insight into the demands of one of the most demanding roles in football.
'Oh it was huge,' he said. 'Just to get the opportunity to be put in that position was obviously something you could never refuse.
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'It wasn't in my mind at that time. I was fully focused on rehabbing and trying to get back to play. That was my only focus.
'But it came out of the blue and it was an opportunity that I absolutely loved. It whetted the appetite in many ways. It gives you a taste of what the other side's like and it's totally different.
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'As a player, you have a sort of feeling of what management and coaching will be like, you don't get a full grasp of it until you're really in it and see it, the detail that goes into the preparation for everything.
'It was a really valuable experience for me and hopefully something that I can carry with me going forward. In many ways that was probably a blessing that I was just throw in at the deep end. I just had to go with it.
'I tried to give it my all during the time that I was there. It was only short-lived but it was an incredible experience to get at that time.
'You just try to do the best to your ability. Around the club at that point and all the players, there was a lot of negativity so I just tried to go in and be positive.
'We only had the two games before the international break, when Philippe then came in. But it was really invaluable for me to get that experience.'
:: Davis was speaking as he helped promote 10 Years On - a celebratory event taking place at Belfast's Ulster Hall on May 2, 2026, marking next year's anniversary of Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 campaign. For tickets go to Ulsterhall.co.uk