Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has spoken out in partial defence of James Tavernier, who has received major criticism for his pre-Hamilton programme notes, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.
The Gers skipper addressed his side’s wretched form in midweek, with an ill-judged set of comments in which he admitted that when the opposition exerts pressure in domestic matches, the players often struggle to cope.
He was lambasted on social media for the comments, with many questioning his suitability as captain.
However, while Gerrard has recognised that the content wasn’t good, it seems he’s more disappointed in the club for allowing it to be published, rather than with Tavernier’s sentiment.
“Sometimes when you say certain things, it’s got to be checked before it goes out at certain times,” he said, as quoted by the Glasgow Times. “You know that and I know that.”
“I think James has maybe said something there that in hindsight he probably doesn’t mean, or it has been taken out of context and he is getting a lot of criticism for it. Maybe it could have been avoided.”
Verdict
These comments from Gerrard will likely do little to ease the pressure on Tavernier, who is taking flak not just for the programme notes, but for his performances.
The right-back made an error which led to the Hearts goal that knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup last weekend, while he didn’t cover himself in glory during the defeat to Accies, either.
Clearly, he should have judged the mood amongst the Gers support better and should have chosen his words more carefully.
But, Gerrard is right, in that as a player, Tavernier could have expected to have been better looked after by the editorial team.
There’s no way the comments should have been published and they have just served to whip up more feelings of anger towards a senior and long-serving member of the Gers squad.
There’s plenty of frustration around Ibrox right now and rightly so, but in failing to properly moderate the content, the editorial team threw the Englishman under the bus.
