Steven Gerrard insists taking the Everton job was 'NEVER a possibility' as Liverpool legend expresses his 'shock' at links with the vacancy... but he is NOT surprised that Rafa Benitez took the gig

• Steven Gerrard says that taking the Everton job was 'never a possibility' 
• The 41-year-old was among a number of names linked with the Toffees vacancy 
• However, the Merseyside club opted to appoint Rafa Benitez as their manager
• Gerrard was 'shocked' by the reports, given his connection with Liverpool 

Steven Gerrard has expressed his shock at speculation linking him with the Everton job as the Liverpool legend insisted it was 'never a possibility' that he would take the Toffees hotseat.

The Merseyside club had been on the hunt for a new manager following Carlo Ancelotti's surprise return to Real Madrid this summer. 

Ancelotti's departure saw a host of coaches linked with the Goodison Park job, including Gerrard, with the Reds icon impressing at Rangers.

The 41-year-old guided Gers to the Scottish football summit last campaign, ending Celtic's nine-year dominance in Scotland and quashing their hopes of a 10th-straight league title.

However, Gerrard says he was 'shocked' by reports linking him to the Everton gig, insisting that taking the job was 'never a possibility'.

'I was very shocked and surprised that my name was linked to the job,' he told ESPN.

'I don't know where it came from, whether it was paper talk or if there was any truth in it, I'm not sure.

'[Managing Everton] is never a possibility as far as I'm concerned.'

Everton have since appointed Rafa Benitez as their new manager, much to the furore of their supporters given the Spaniard's close ties with arch rivals Liverpool.

The former Reds boss guided the Anfield club to Champions League glory in 2005, where Gerrard inspired a remarkable turnaround to overturn a three-goal deficit to defeat AC Milan in Istanbul.

Gerrard reflected that he 'wasn't surprised at all' by Benitez taking the Everton job, given that the studious tactician is 'his own man'. 

'Rafa wasn't born in the city, he's not a red through-and-through and he never played against Everton for 20 years and competed against them, so I think it's a very different situation [to mine],' Gerrard added.

'Rafa is his own man and will make his own professional decisions, so there's no surprise that he wanted to get back in the Premier League at a big club and have the opportunity to compete against all the top teams in the league, so I wasn't very shocked and surprised at all in all honesty.'

Gerrard's Rangers will take on Ancelotti's Madrid in a pre-season friendly this weekend as the Liverpool legend prepares his side ahead of their title defence in 2021-22.