RICHARD Gough, who will play his last match for Rangers in Saturday's Tennents Scottish Cup final, revealed yesterday that his ultimate aim is to come back to Ibrox - as manager.

The Rangers captain, who will leave to join American club San Jose Clash shortly after the final, had previously said this was a road he did not want to go down. However, he now intends to take his coaching certificates and continue to take an active part in football when his playing days are over.

He said: ''It was never in my mind before to become a manager, but now it is. That is what I shall be aiming for. I don't know where I will get a job, but I may start out in America. But it would be nice to think that I might be good enough to come back to Rangers if they ever wanted me for the job.''

In an exclusive interview with The Herald, Gough also revealed that he had turned down an offer from new coach Dick Advocaat to remain at Ibrox; how he fears for Scottish youngsters in the game; and just how much he dislikes the present league set-up.

Saturday will see Gough make a second emotional farewell to the Rangers support. Last season, after the Glasgow club succeeded in equalling the Celtic record of nine successive championship victories, Gough left for Kansas City to begin a new career on the other side of the Atlantic.

TheAmerican dream was interrupted by a call for help from manager Walter Smith when injuries had ravaged the Rangers squad early in the season. Gough responded and he recalls now: ''I don't think I would have returned for anyone other than Walter Smith, or any club other than Rangers. But I had so many good times at Ibrox and Walter was such an influence on my career from the time I first arrived in Scotland, that I knew I could not turn my back and ignore his call.

''And, even though we lost the title last weekend, I am glad that I did return. There are people who have criticised me, but I don't listen too much to what other people say.

''All through my time in the game, I have managed to remain totally focused on what I wanted to do. This time I wanted to help and, while I pointed out to Walter when he called me that I would be going into the team without having had a break from football at all, he was willing to take the risk.

''So was I and, if you look over the matches, you'll find I have missed very few games - only a couple through injury and some more through suspension. I just worried a little bit that I would pick up the odd strain here and there through playing constantly.

''There were no worries over my general fitness, because I have always tried to look after myself and still do. In fact, even now, at thirty five, I am the same weight - 12 stone - as I was when I signed for Dundee United.''

Gough has been a massive influence at Ibrox in the side's glory years, which began under the guidance of Graeme Souness and continued under Walter Smith. Now his leadership qualities will be exported to the States, where he recognises that the competitive edge that has constantly driven him is less than in our domestic game.

He could have remained at Rangers, and new coach Dick Advocaat had made that plain to the defender. Gough explains, however: ''I thought it was time to leave last season and that is how I feel now. The new manager did say that he would be happy to see me stay on - because I did have a part of my contract still in place - but when I see so many of the other players and Walter, too, all leaving then I know my decision is right.''

Gough's intention is to play in the American league for the next two seasons and, in that time, he is to take his coaching certificates. For many years, Gough had been of a mind to simply turn his back on the game and pursue some other career.

Now, though, he reveals: ''Since I was a teenager, there is nothing else I have known and my wife told me that I would miss the competitiveness of the game when I left last year. She was right and that made me think of the future and now I intend to work for my coaching certificates while I am in the States, because I would miss football, I think.

''One thing is sure - if I become a manager, I will do the job my way. Sure, I have learned from a few really good gaffers, learned all about man management from them, and I would add some of my own ideas to those I have picked up in my years as a player.

''Before Walter asked me to come back here, I was ready to join Graeme Souness in Italy and Graeme said to me that he wanted me to start coaching and stay with him and work with him for the next five years and then head out on my own. It was an intriguing offer and it set me thinking about the future.

''I don't know if Rangers would want me, but I would like to think that a few years down the road there might be that opportunity. Who knows?

''After all, I thought I had played my last game at Tannadice a year ago and yet here I am heading for the Scottish Cup final and, hopefully, another winner's medal. We would all like to win the trophy for the fans and also for Walter, because it would be sad if he had to leave this season without a trophy. He deserves to go out on a high.''

Gough knows that times are changing at Ibrox and he worries a little that there are fewer young players coming through than in previous years. However, he is hopeful that the new Premier League's promised commitment to youth development will help find the local heroes of tomorrow.

He admits: ''There are not as many young players emerging and, perhaps, if the emphasis is changed from reserve teams to youth teams with clubs operating with a first-team squad and below that only young players, then that could help.

''Something has to be done. Scotland does not have as many class players as they possessed when I started out.

''When you look down south, there are not nearly as many Scottish players performing with the top clubs as there used to be because the talent is not as plentiful nowadays. We need a shift in emphasis and the new set-up might provide that.

''At the moment, the short-term answer for clubs is to look abroad and bring in Johnny Foreigner. Now, we have benefited at Rangers from having really top quality players arriving here from Europe, as Celtic have done. But others without the same financial resources are bringing in ordinary players, no better than Scottish lads, who are not now getting an opportunity to break through.

''There is nothing for young players to look forward to and eventually they become discouraged and often drift out of football altogether. That is not helping the domestic game progress at all.

''I mean, just look at the under-16 tournament, which has just finished. It was played here and yet we did not qualify from the group we were in, and this has traditionally been an age group where we have had outstanding players.''

Gough is no great fan of the present league set-up and he believes that, playing against clubs four or even more times each season, is less than rewarding. ''It is one aspect of the domestic game which I don't enjoy,'' he says.

''I would prefer to see a bigger league and fewer games and I think that would help the game move forward. It could even allow us to do a little better in Europe, though that is becoming more and more difficult as the years pass.

''Having a little more variety and a less demanding programme at home would benefit players. The lads from abroad come here and cannot believe how many midweek games we have to play.''

When Gough arrives in California early next week, he will join a club in crisis. San Jose have had a disastrous start to the season, but he is, as ever, relishing the challenge.

He also will be turning his back on the unique pressures involved in being a footballer in Glasgow but adds: ''I have to say that in my years with Rangers I haven't had a great deal of trouble from fans. Even Celtic supporters have always been OK with me when I have bumped into them in the street or in a restaurant or whatever. I like to think that maybe they respect me as a player and that's why they don't give me a hard time.''

So Gough eases off into the Californian sunset, but, suddenly, there are hints that, if he is wanted, he may yet return. It is a suggestion that Rangers supporters will welcome because they recognise Richard Gough as a winner and as the most successful captain in the club's history.