It has emerged that Steven Gerrard used overconfident comments from Feyenoord players to motivate his players ahead of Thursday’s Europa League encounter.
Midfielder Orkan Kokcu was one of those who backed his side to take three points from the trip to Glasgow [Daily Record].
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the coaching book, used by management teams in various sports and at all levels. Take the words of the opposition, pin them up in the dressing room and tell your players to prove them wrong.
Rangers boss Gerrard used opposition comments against them
“I like to really study the media for what the opposition players are saying,” said Gerrard, as quoted by the Daily Record. “There were quite a few quotes where people thought they were going to come to Ibrox and really enjoy themselves on Thursday night.”
“If teams want to have that confidence then fine, it’s no problem. But we have to use all those small details and margins in our favour.
“The comments go on the dressing-room wall. They go on the biggest screen I can find. Is it having the right impact on my players? It did last night.”
Verdict
Feyenoord started Thursday’s Group G opener with a swagger about them, and almost scored within the first five minutes.
However, thereafter, the Gers players took control. Normally composed operators like Leroy Fer struggled to deal with the pressure being applied by the home side and the Ibrox atmosphere got the better of the Dutch.
That combination of intensity from the players and crowd is Rangers’ best weapon for this European campaign, and it seems Gerrard’s pre-match tactics helped raise his team’s level.
Let’s hope that neither Young Boys nor Porto heed this warning, and write off the Gers in advance too.
It’s a very tough group, but the Gers have made the perfect start and will be confident of earning further big results down the line.
