Rickie Lambert leaks Rangers secrets after Ibrox links emerge

Rickie Lambert reveals Rangers dream as former Liverpool striker looks back on career

Former Liverpool and Southampton striker Rickie Lambert has revealed the Rangers connection that could have added another interesting chapter to his career.

Lambert, now 44, called time on his playing days at the end of the 2016/17 campaign after a career which saw him work his way through the English football pyramid before reaching the Premier League, representing England and playing in the Champions League.

The striker remains best known for his hugely successful spell at Southampton, where he became one of the club’s most important players of the modern era.

Between 2009 and 2014, Lambert scored 117 goals in 235 appearances for the Saints before eventually earning the move he had dreamed of as a boy when Liverpool came calling.

Rickie Lambert reveals Rangers dream

Lambert was asked via Ian Abrahams on X which club, past or present, he would have liked to represent.

After some consideration, the former striker selected Rangers.

It is an intriguing choice given Lambert’s strong Liverpool connections and the long-standing relationship between the two clubs.

Liverpool and Rangers have shared plenty of links over the years, both through players and managers and through the supporters of the two clubs.

Steven Gerrard is perhaps the most obvious modern example, having spent his entire playing career at Anfield before taking charge of Rangers and guiding them to the Scottish Premiership title in 2020/21.

Graeme Souness also enjoyed significant spells with both clubs, while Ian Rush and Mark Walters are among the other figures to have represented Liverpool and Rangers.

That history could help explain why Rangers appealed to Lambert, particularly given his own connection with Liverpool.

Lambert’s remarkable rise through English football

Lambert’s career is notable because of how far he climbed after starting out in the lower divisions.

He had spells with Blackpool, Macclesfield Town, Stockport County and Rochdale before joining Bristol Rovers, where he scored 60 goals in 154 appearances.

His performances eventually earned him a move to Southampton in 2009.

That proved to be the defining spell of his career.

Lambert scored 117 goals in 235 appearances for the Saints and played a major role as the club progressed from League One to the Premier League.

His form also earned him international recognition, with Lambert winning 11 England caps and scoring three goals.

His success at Southampton eventually led to the dream move to Liverpool in 2014.

Liverpool dream came true

Lambert’s time at Anfield did not produce the same goalscoring numbers he had managed elsewhere, but simply playing for his boyhood club represented a remarkable achievement.

He made 36 appearances for Liverpool and scored three goals before moving on to West Bromwich Albion and later Cardiff City.

Lambert retired from professional football in 2017 at the age of 35.

Looking back, his career represents an unusual journey from the lower reaches of English football to the Premier League, Champions League and international stage.

His Rangers revelation therefore adds another interesting ‘what if?’ to a career that already contained plenty of memorable moments.

Given Lambert’s physical presence, goalscoring record and ability to lead the line, it is easy to imagine why a move to Scottish football could have appealed to him.

Whether he would have enjoyed the same success at Rangers will remain one of the more intriguing hypothetical chapters of his career.