It wouldn’t have been difficult for Steven Gerrard, but Spartak Moscow’s Mikhail Ignatov has written his team-talk for him in two weeks.
Rangers’ 0-0 draw with Moscow last night leaves Europa League Group G perfectly poised. Rangers sit three points clear of Spartak at the top of the group. European attentions now switch to a huge match in Russia in a fortnight.
A victory at Spartak would leave Rangers extremely close to sealing progression from a tough group on their European return. Therefore, it would’ve been simple for the Gers manager to write his team-talk for the clash on November 8th.
Ignatov has clearly decided to help out, however. He claimed today that Gerrard is nothing special, and that he can now boast two good results against his sides after previously beating his Liverpool youth team in a European tie with Spartak.
“I played against a Steven Gerrard team last year in the Youth League and we beat his Liverpool side in Russia. There’s nothing special or unusual about him or his tactics.
“I think the result was fair. We had a good second half and our aim was to win the game. It was very fast at times and it took a while to get used to the game.
“But looking back on it, I don’t think a point was bad at all. We think we are in a good position in the Europa League with two home games ahead against Rangers and Rapid Vienna.”
Prove him wrong
It certainly wasn’t a scathing attack on the Rangers manager, and there was no maliciousness in it either. But Rangers should have a real urge to go out and prove Ignatov and Spartak wrong in the return fixture in two weeks.
The comments follow UFA’s assistant coach Dmitri Kirichenko stating something similar several days ago. Rangers, however, can prove them all wrong if they can go to Russia and shock the Moscow side.
Gerrard has worked wonders at Ibrox this season, and deserves a little more credit than that. Nobody is saying that every decision he’s made has been a tactical masterstroke, but he’s made so many sound moves since arriving in Glasgow. The fact they’re now disappointed with only a point against a team like Spartak Moscow is symptomatic of his work.
It could be the case that Ignatov didn’t mean the way these words come out, but it sounds dismissive. His European victory over Gerrard’s side in Russia is totally irrelevant, and the Rangers manager is clearly a talented coach.
It’s now down to Gerrard himself to prove the likes of Ignatov and Kirichenko wrong. A win at Spartak would surprise the Russians, and Rangers have the capabilities these days to do it.
