Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson has claimed that recently-retired Steven Gerrard should focus on youth coaching before taking on a senior management role.

The ex-Liverpool captain announced his retirement from professional football on Thursday, ending a career spanning 19 years.

The 36-year-old recently turned down the chance to become MK Dons manager, admitting that the job came too early for the midfielder, who has spent the last 18 months playing for MLS club Los Angeles Galaxy.

Thompson believes that Gerrard should gain experience in the England youth setup.

"There will be a lot of opportunities but I'd rather see him with England Under-21s, which would probably be my preference, then come back to Liverpool in some capacity, maybe with the Under-23s or as first-team coach," Sky Sports News quotes Thompson as saying.

"Aidy Boothroyd is down there in an interim role with the England Under-21s with a wealth of experience. He's gone into the under 21 set up is the sort of figure to learn from. It's one thing cutting your teeth with the younger players at a football club but going into a League One or League Two side is a difficult scenario unless you've got a senior coach with you.

"It's a good way of learning your trade. Pep Guardiola did it with Barcelona's youth team, Zinedine Zidane did it with Real Madrid's B team and Patrick Vieira worked with Manchester City's academy before moving on to better things. I would like to see him come back to Liverpool from a selfish point of view but I'm not too sure it would be with the first team."

Gerrard made 710 appearances during a 17-year spell at Anfield, winning eight trophies, including the Champions League in 2005.