Rio Ferdinand has said that he anticipated Liverpool would approach Steven Gerrard to step in as caretaker manager, even advising the Reds icon to expect a call from his old club amid mounting pressure on head coach Arne Slot. The reigning Premier League champions bounced back to form with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday.
This win propelled them to eighth place in the Premier League standings, closing the gap to the top four to a mere three points. However, prior to their London outing, Liverpool had suffered nine defeats in their last 12 games.
This dismal streak included crushing losses to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven, with the Reds conceding a whopping ten goals across these three fixtures.
Adding to the tension, fans voiced their discontent after the final whistle of Liverpool's 4-1 defeat to the Eredivisie side.
Slot's role has naturally come under intense scrutiny beyond Anfield due to Liverpool's recent slump, reports the Liverpool ECHO.
Despite alleviating some of this pressure with the West Ham triumph, Ferdinand admitted he could still envisage Gerrard stepping into Slot's shoes on an interim basis should Liverpool decide to part ways with the Dutchman.
"I was in Qatar over the last few days with Steven Gerrard," the Manchester United legend revealed on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, having attended the Qatar Grand Prix over the weekend with his former England team-mate. "I was saying to him over some food the other day, 'Listen, you need to sharpen your tools mate. Sharpen your tools, get them ready, because you could be going back in as interim boss'.
"There are so many games coming up that I was thinking I don't see Slot getting through all of them in good enough condition, and I think the pressure from the terraces and the fan base might get too much and they might make a decision.
"In that climate, with someone like Steven Gerrard sitting there, a legend of the club – forget his tenures at different clubs.
"There's a legend of the football club ready to come in and just steady the ship for them. I wouldn't have been surprised if Steven Gerrard had gotten a call."
However, whilst Ferdinand may have suggested to Gerrard that he could become Liverpool's next manager, albeit temporarily, fellow Reds icon Jamie Carragher holds a different view as he rejected the notion of his former teammate taking charge.
"The idea of Liverpool changing the manager who won the league, Liverpool have never done that," he stated on the latest episode of The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet. "Then, who do you get? The idea of an interim manager just feels like, who and how?".
"No, I wouldn't imagine (rumours of Liverpool turning to Gerrard are true). He's been a manager at Villa and had great success at Rangers as well.
"He's a legendary figure and he's back, floating down Liverpool. I don't think most Liverpool fans will be clamouring for Steven Gerrard – everyone is desperate for it to work for Arne Slot.
"They're on such a bad run, the flipside of that is then how long does it carry on?"