Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has warned Steven Gerrard against taking a management job until he builds up his coaching experience.
Gerrard, who announced on Thursday that he was retiring as a player after leaving LA Galaxy, has already confirmed that he turned down the chance to take charge of League One strugglers MK Dons.
While Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp appears open to Gerrard joining his coaching staff, Thompson suggested the 36-year-old should start by working with current England under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd.
Thompson, who worked with Gerrard during his time as Liverpool's assistant manager, told Sky Sports: "There will be a lot of opportunities but I'd rather see him with England U21s, which would probably be my preference, then come back to Liverpool in some capacity, maybe with the U23s or as first-team coach.
"Aidy Boothroyd is down there in an interim role with the England U21s with a wealth of experience. He's gone into the under-21 setup [and] 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."
Thompson highlighted Pep Guardiola's work with Barcelona B, Zinedine Zidane's spell in charge of Real Madrid Castilla and Patrick Vieira's time with the Manchester City academy side as positive examples of top former players learning their trade away from the spotlight.
He also said it was unlikely Klopp would want him to work with the Liverpool first team at present, explaining: "With the team doing to so well it could take the focus away, especially with Jurgen Klopp's trusted lieutenants doing such a great job."
Thompson, who won three European Cups with Liverpool, also said he had spoken to Gerrard "a couple of months ago" and that he had expected him to continue playing in some capacity.
"He was still unsure about where his next step was. The one thing he was sure about was leaving LA Galaxy," he said.
"He was hoping to be a player-coach somewhere, which would have given him some coaching experience as he's not got any whatsoever.
"You just felt with the way he retired quite suddenly, having known he considered carrying on player and coach, that maybe he has something in the pipelines."