Jermain Defoe is like a magnet for the squad and I hope he sticks around, says Rangers boss Steven Gerrard

Jermain Defoe has shown he’s far from finished on the pitch.

The Rangers striker is the SPFL Premiership’s top scorer with nine goals this season.

And a survey last week stated the 37-year-old was voted as the fourth most-popular footballer in the UK.

Steven Gerrard believes Rangers have a true superstar – on and off the pitch.

The Ibrox boss maintains Defoe is a better professional than he was when they were England team-mates, and that’s just one reason why he’d like him to stick around beyond the end of this campaign.

Gerrard said: “If he stays in the form he’s in then, of course, I would want him around here for as long as possible.

“It’s definitely something that’s on all our minds at the club.

“I’m sure he’s frustrated with me in terms of his game time at the moment.

“That’s what I love about him. He wants to play every minute.

“He’s just as hungry now as he was when I bumped into him when he was probably around 22 or 23 years old. He’s still first on the training pitch and last off.”

Defoe is just two years younger than his manager, but Gerrard is delighted with the way their relationship works.

He’s aware that working with a player of a similar age might be problematic.

He went on: “I think it could be with a certain personality, someone with a certain character.

“But before I make those decisions, of course I am well aware of the person – guys like Steven Davis, Gareth McAuley and Jermain Defoe.

“They are top professionals. Better professionals than I was myself.

“That is involved with the decision before they come in. Can I work with someone who I’ve played against or played with? Or who I’ve been a friend or team-mate with?

“Those decisions I have to process before making the decision, but Jermain was an absolute no-brainer for me.

“There’s no falseness with Jermain. He’s honest and open.

“For the younger guys in the group, Jermain is like a magnet. They are all round him.

“They see the career that he’s had but also what he’s like as a person and what he gives them back around the place.

“Ask all the staff – the laundry girls, the physios – how are you finding Jermain? Across the board it is always the same.”

Defoe is still firmly committed to his playing career, but Gerrard revealed he’s also having some influence as an unpaid coach.

He went on: “He does it without us even asking.

“That is the part of Jermain that we are so lucky to have.

“He’s got time to help the younger lads, to guide them in the right way and to talk about his own experiences.

“When we take academy players over, the No. 9s and those in similar positions to him, he’s always got his arm around them and he stays behind, gives his own time up to coach them without any push from us.”

Defoe is on loan at Rangers until the end of this season.

His contract at Bournemouth will then expire and the player has expressed a willingness to extend his time in Scotland. And that could eventually lead to a full-time coaching role at Rangers.

Gerrard said: “Possibly. We are open to that side of Jermain.

“I can help centre-forwards, but Jermain will know certain situations in a game and certain things to look out for in his specific position more than any coach in the world.

“He’s doing it every day and he’s learned from playing against these defenders, different defenders.

“Whether that ends up being with us or somewhere else out there, I would love to see him carry on giving something back to the game.

“But he’s still got so much to offer as a player.

“Jermain Defoe would be well within his rights to say to me: ‘Look, I am feeling a bit tired at my age’.

“He’s never ever come to me with stuff like that. It’s always us saying: ‘Come on, Jermain, you’ve done enough’.

“He’s always out there still working on his left foot, his right foot. Trying to create situations that he’s going to face in the game.

“He asks defenders to defend against him in a certain way.

“He asks goalkeepers to create certain situations.

“He is a bona fide superstar but not just as a player, as a professional.

“We are so lucky as a club to have him.”