As quoted by the Daily Record, Steven Gerrard has provided his backing to Rangers star Scott Arfield after it emerged that an off-field issue has been affecting his performances.
The versatile 31-year-old, who is also captain of the Canada national team, enjoyed a strong 2018/19 campaign, which was his first as a Rangers player.
Towards the back end of the season in particular, when he was pushed up into an advanced role, he became a major contributor, scoring in an Old Firm win at Ibrox and netting a hat-trick at Motherwell.
However, things have been a lot tougher this time around. He’s still featured regularly in the attacking right slot but is without a goal in his last 21 appearances.
“In terms of form, Scott will be the first to admit that he’s maybe not hit the heights of last season,” said Gerrard, as quoted by the Daily Record. “But he set such high standards, certainly towards the end of the campaign when he was on fire. He was in the zone.”
“Scott is one that we trust. We’ll stay with him and keep believing that he’ll get back to his best form. He’s had a situation off the field rumbling on, that he’s had for a few weeks and is his private business.
“That’s up to him whether he divulges that or not. He’s had a tough few weeks. But he’s still very much part of our plans and I really appreciate what he’s given us since he came through the door, on and off the pitch.”
Rangers fans rally around Scott Arfield
Following this revelation, Bears have responded with supportive messages on social media.
Here’s a selection of reactions from Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HiyaPal55/status/1200921083328761858
https://twitter.com/Cairo1872/status/1201048240440918016
https://twitter.com/Ohiobear1872/status/1200913786674266113
It says a lot about Arfield’s commitment to the cause that he continues to train and play despite experiencing difficulty away from football.
Clearly, the exact nature of this off-field issue is unknown, but we’d like to echo the thoughts of the fans included here by wishing him well.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that players aren’t robots and that they will have other things going on away from their jobs, just like everyone else.
