Liverpool can give themselves a much-needed confidence boost and a way back into their Champions League quarter-final against PSG by hiring Steven Gerrard, says Jamie O’Hara.
Gerrard has been put in the frame as a potential interim solution if the Reds decide to part ways with Arne Slot before the end of the season.
And according to O’Hara, the Scouser returning could be exactly the tonic for Liverpool to gain the self-belief needed to turn the 2-0 deficit around next week.
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Jeremie Frimpong takes throw-in for Liverpool in front of Arne Slot
Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
O’Hara urges Liverpool to make quick Gerrard change
Having stuck with him through thick and thin so far this season, it seems highly unlikely that Liverpool will decide to relieve Slot of his duties before next week’s second-leg at Anfield.
That does not mean that there is no appetite for a change, though, with O’Hara echoing the thoughts of many supporters by declaring Gerrard the right man for the job.
“At the moment I don’t see any other way that Liverpool get through this game, with the way that they play. Bring back Stevie G,” the former midfielder said on TalkSPORT.
“Why not?” he added, when asked by Jason Cundy whether Gerrard as manager and Jamie Carragher as assistant could work.
Steven Gerrard attends the UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg match between Liverpool and Galatasaray at Anfield
Photo by Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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“Steven Gerrard’s a proper manager. We’re not messing about here, I actually genuinely think that Steven Gerrard is ready to become part of Liverpool. He wants to become part of Liverpool. If it was there and it might be until the end of the season, I think he’d jump at the opportunity.
“Could you imagine the atmosphere next week, Steven Gerrard walking in. It’s not about PSG, it’s not going to affect PSG, but it can affect Liverpool. They need a massive bit of belief here, a bit of confidence.”
Analysis: No chance Liverpool will turn to Gerrard
There would surely not be many Liverpool supporters left who would not be right behind O’Hara’s suggestion that Gerrard take over on an interim basis.
Slot has lost much of the fanbase by now, and many are starting to feel that things could hardly get much worse.
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If there is a man who could reinvigorate the whole club right now, then it is Gerrard, and adding that energy and change into the Liverpool squad could only be a positive thing.
It is true that the 45-year-old’s coaching career has not panned out in the way many had hoped, but could he really do a much worse job than Slot right now?
Sadly, it is impossible to see FSG agreeing with that just now, especially not with so little time to come before such a big game.
But if this decision were in the hands of supporters, it would truly be a no-brainer. But the people who run the club have never been the kind to make emotional decisions, and so while it would indeed be amazing to see Gerrard inject a bit of life at Anfield on Tuesday, it simply is not going to happen.
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