After watching his team progress to the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup, Steven Gerrard appeared to be a satisfied manager in his post-match interview with RangersTV.
Some Bears were surprised at the strength of the team he named pre-match, despite there being ten changes from Thursday night’s victory over FC Midtjylland.
Perhaps that’s just a sign of the squad’s strength in depth. Even with the likes of James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield left at home, the bench still looked strong.
Gerrard lauds two Rangers recruits for East Fife displays
Wind-affected and stop-start in parts, it wasn’t the best game for the neutral. Yet, the manager saw two individual performances he thought were worthy of special praise.
“I thought George Edmundson was outstanding, and Joe Aribo, he made the trip worthwhile just watching him today,” Gerrard told RangersTV. “I thought he was immense.”
“Good players don’t just pick and choose when they’re going to play. They’re good all the time and he’s been outstanding in every game so far.”
Verdict
This is high praise indeed from Gerrard, particularly for Aribo.
Every time he plays, it becomes more evident that he was an absolute steal signing him for around £300k from Charlton [Scotsman].
In tricky conditions in Methil, he maintained his composure on the ball, glided past opposition players with ease throughout and scored the fourth goal of his fledgling Ibrox career.
The manager’s words are also bound to be well received by Edmundson.
The 21-year-old has barely put a foot wrong since joining the club but finds himself down the pecking order due to the standard of his competition.
His outings may be few and far in between going forward, but all he can do is continue to be rock solid. He did that today and helped guide the Gers to a clean sheet and past a potential banana skin.
