Steven Gerrard has stated that too many Rangers players go into their shell when faced with scrutiny.
The Rangers manager has been going about trying to find a tune from his side after Sunday’s Betfred Cup exit. Gerrard has been consistently giving warnings to his squad about their places in the side if they continue to perform like they did at Hampden.
With the Ibrox club battling on several fronts this season, there can be no room for shrinking violets. Rangers need their big players to step up consistently if they’re to achieve success in Gerrard’s first campaign.
The Rangers manager is keeping a close eye on those who aren’t prepared to meet their criticism head on. Gerrard believes that far too many Rangers players go into their shell when faced with questions.
“I watch closely and if they go into a shell then they’ve got a problem because you shouldn’t be at Rangers if you go into a shell. It’s the wrong place. They can’t do it.
“There has been too many players here of late that are prepared to go into that shell. We can’t have them round here. It can’t happen. “I was quite clear and blunt in the media afterwards. That’s the way it is, we’re at a big club and big clubs require big players who step it up in big moments on big occasions.
“Our performance in general was pretty strong but there wasn’t enough quality in the final third and we got done by a classic sucker punch. It was frustrating.”
This group has bottle
Despite the poor result on Sunday, this side have proven time and again that they do have the bottle for the big occasion. Simply put, Rangers wouldn’t be in the Europa League group stages if they didn’t. They also wouldn’t be performing so well in it either.
There’s a clear contrast between European and domestic form, however. Whether that’s down to complacency or just early-season struggles is anyone’s guess.
Under previous managers, Gerrard is spot on. You would need about six hands to count all of the players who couldn’t take criticism at Ibrox. Far too many players like the sound of playing for Rangers but can’t cut it mentally.
Domestically, Rangers have now lost three games this season, one more than Celtic who also started poorly. It’s time this squad started to stand up on the domestic front and make others take notice of them.
Rangers don’t need another team full of pretenders and those who can’t take some criticism. They need men who are willing to stand up and fight for the club.
Do they have that? The Rangers manager is clearly watching closely to make sure that’s the case.
