Bristol City make contract with Steven Gerrard about managerial vacancy amid Portsmouth fans' John Mousinho concerns

Pompey’s Championship rivals Bristol City are reportedly working hard trying to entice their next manager to Ashton Gate.

And members of the Fratton faithful who have been concerned the Robins have had their eye on John Mousinho will be relieved to know it’s not the Blues boss they are currently working on.

Instead, according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, it’s former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard whom City have set their sights on.

It’s been reported that the Championship mid-table side have presented an ‘enticing and attractive’ project to the 45-year-old, whose last managerial job with was Al-Ettifaq in 2025.

It has also been claimed that Gerrard is open to working in the Championship following stints at Aston Villa and Glasgow Rangers, and wants to return to the game as soon as possible. Newly-relegated Burnley are also reportedly keen on Gerrard as they contemplate Scott Parker’s future at Turf Moor.

Bristol City are currently looking for a permanent manager after parting company with Gerhard Struber at the end of March.

Former England and Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson is in interim charge until the end of the season. The Robins have won two, lost two and drawn two of his six games in charge and welcome Stoke to Ashton Gate on the final day of the season.

There’s been concerns among members of the Fratton faithful that this season could be Mousinho’s last after three-and-a-half years at PO4. Some Blues fans fear they may lose the popular boss should owners Tornante fail to match his ambition with the necessary financial boost this summer as he attempts to build on two years of consolidation in the Championship.

When asked about his future after Saturday’s 3-1 win at Stoke, Mousinho said: ‘The position we find ourselves in the league is the most important thing to me at the minute, that has been the focus over the past however many weeks.

‘I have spoken to the press consistently over the past few seasons, my full focus is on Pompey, I love being here, I love the city, I have loved it down here now for three years and I think we have an opportunity, if we get things right, to start kicking on from where we have been over the past couple of seasons.

‘With everything we have going for us, it’s a really good opportunity to do that.

‘I’ve had absolutely nothing from any other football club up and down the country, so they (the fans) are absolutely fine at the minute. I do want to stay, I have been really clear about that, I’ve got another couple of years here in terms of my contract.

‘How do we now figure out the next step for the football club and how do I figure out the step for the football club, which is two years of consolidation in the Championship?

‘How do we turn that into - not necessarily all of a sudden going and being a top-six side, that is almost impossible - but how do we approach that in terms of everything we do?

‘How do we turn that into a side which is competing a bit higher up and turning that into a strategy where, at some point, we can compete for the top eight and that puts us with a chance of actually going up at some point.

‘But that has to be underpinned by everything we do at the football club, there’s no point in competing at the top if we are not ready to make the next step.’