Andy Halliday played under Steven Gerrard at Rangers and is backing him for a sensational return.
Ibrox chiefs are expected to land on a decision over who will lead them into the new season this week and it could well be Gerrard, with talk around a potential return intensifying.
The 44-year-old is thought to be up against Davide Ancelotti, Rob Edwards, Gary O'Neil, Russell Martin and Danny Rohl for the job.
To set tongues wagging, Gerrard has pulled out of an event with former Liverpool teammate Djibril Cisse next week, with "professional reasons" cited.
Halliday played under him during his first spell as boss and reckons he wouldn't have as big a job on his hands this time round, but may seek assurances from the board after frustrations over the spending last time.
Speaking on Clyde 1's Superscoreboard, he said: "I thought the changes required when Gerrard first took over were actually bigger than this time round.
"The gap between Rangers and Celtic back then was bigger than the gap there is just now.
"I base that on the fact that Rangers are a lot more competitive in games against Celtic than they were back then.
"That being said, there's a huge gap in the table.
"But Steven Gerrard was very frustrated with the lack of financial backing he got the first time he was here.
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"If he gets certain types of promises from the owners then I think it could be the right appointment."
Halliday wouldn't be enthused by the prospect of Sean Dyche getting the job and reckons his former boss would be the safest option.
He added: "I'm a big believer that you don't know if it's the right appointment until a few months down the line.
"What you can try and do is go through a list of categories that you are looking for and see what manager ticks as many boxes as possible.
"There will be names that whet your appetite and names that don't. People mention Sean Dyche, he's not one I'd be overly excited about.
"The reason for that is that he's dealt with a lot of clubs that were fighting for their lives and they had to be organised off the ball.
"I don't think that's what this Rangers team need, and that's not what you need to be a Rangers manager because domestically you'll have 60 to 70 per cent of the ball.
"From the shortlist, the safer appointment is Steven Gerrard."
