Rangers legend Derek Johnstone has praised two loanees and backed Steven Gerrard in his Evening Times column.
Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis arrived at Ibrox in January. The former started with a bang before struggling for game time, while the latter is only now looking to be up to speed.
Defoe scored and Davis delivered a masterclass against Hearts on Wednesday night.
“Jermain has scored goals when given a chance and he will get a run in the team while Alfredo Morelos is suspended over the next three games in the Premiership”, wrote Johnstone, in the Evening Times.
“And Steven will hope that he can put together a few performances now because he was excellent the other night and he deserved his Man of the Match award as well.
“It is good that both players are now coming to the fore, but unfortunate that it has come too late to matter in terms of the title race.”
The former Gers striker then went on to defend the work being done by Steven Gerrard. BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton recently suggested that there has been no improvement at Ibrox this season.
“I am fed up hearing that there has been no progress this season. What a load of utter rubbish. It hasn’t been the season we wanted, but we need to finish it well”, he concluded.
Verdict
It’s clear to see that Steven Davis, in particular, is getting better and better. 180 minutes on international duty for Northern Ireland look to have been a game changer and we’re now seeing him strut his stuff.
Likewise, Defoe still has that magic that has seen him be so prolific throughout his career. He’s comfortably ahead of Kyle Lafferty in the pecking order and will be looking to net again on Sunday.
As for Steven Gerrard, it hasn’t been easy this season. There have been setbacks aplenty and the sum of it all is that there will be no silverware for the Gers. Nonetheless, there has definitely been an improvement. A few quality additions to the current crop and 55 will become a distinct possibility.
