Ahead of what will be a manic campaign, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has told fans why they should be excited.
The Liverpool legend has made a fine start to his career as a first-team boss. Rangers have knocked out Shkupi and Osijek from the Europa League respectively. Maribor could be next after a sumptuous 3-1 home win over the Slovenians at Ibrox.
The Ibrox side also started their domestic campaign with an impressive performance in a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen. The Gers showed a vast superiority to the Dons, and only encouraged supporters even more.
The Rangers fans should be excited. We are not hiding away from the fact it is our responsibility to get them excited. The players can feel the supporters right behind them. They understand what we are trying to do. We are still trying to make changes and tweaks to the squad to become even better. We won’t stand still.
Gerrard also made reference to midfielder Lassana Coulibaly in his press conference, providing his midfielder with extreme praise.
Coulibaly has been lauded by the Gers support since arriving on loan from Angers earlier on this summer.
And despite having to adapt to a new style of football in new surroundings, Gerrard waxed lyrical about the Mali international’s fitness levels.
He’s ahead of where I thought he would be at this time. As a player, I always felt I needed four or five friendly matches under my belt. He has played three games in terms of maximum minutes. Realistically, he is still in pre-season in terms of match fitness, sharpness and game-time, so we believe there is still more to come but he has found his consistency and the fans are buying into him. When you play for a crowd as passionate as the Rangers crowd, if you empty the tank for them, and give everything you have possibly got in your body, they are going to come with you
Rangers will look to tackle a tough second-game clash against St Mirren at Ibrox on Sunday. The Gers haven’t lost at Ibrox to the Saints since 1992, and will be confident of putting Alan Stubbs’ men to the sword and earn their first Premiership win of the season.