Rangers striker Jermain Defoe has tipped Steven Gerrard to go all the way to the top in his management career.

The 37-year-old is in the closing stages of a long and successful career where he has worked under a series of bosses at places like West Ham, Tottenham and Sunderland, among other clubs.

Defoe, who won 57 England caps, compared Rangers boss Gerrard, only in his second season as manager, to Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce and believes the former Liverpool and England captain has the necessary understanding of players.

“I think he is going to be a top, top, top manager,” Defoe told talkSPORT.

Steven Gerrard signed Jermain Defoe at Rangers (Andrew Milligan/PA)

“He is brilliant, he is a natural. In terms of management he is still fresh and new but you can see that naturally he has got everything.

“He always says to the players that if they want to go and talk to him his door is open. He is approachable which is really important as a manager.

“Sometimes there is things you want to talk about, you might have personal problems but you feel uncomfortable going to the manager but with Steven you can go and talk to him about anything. He is chilled.

“He reminds me of Harry (Redknapp) and Sam Allardyce where you can approach them and speak about anything. It is important.”