Steven Gerrard’s Rangers standards are what has earned the club so much praise this season from fans and pundits.
The Rangers manager has now given the supporters an insight into exactly what he expects of his squad. Touching on the hammering of Hamilton Accies at the weekend, Gerrard was pleased with his side’s clinical edge in the final third.
Despite being pegged back by Steven Boyd, James Tavernier slammed home a couple of penalties. Alfredo Morelos then completed the rout at the death. Gerrard believed it wasn’t a game that this Rangers side would’ve won last year.
But it was the Rangers manager’s comments on his demands that will have excited fans most. Speaking to the official Gers website, Gerrard quickly took the opportunity to remind the players of hat he expects from them.
“They are the types of players I want here at the club. I have tried to keep the types of players here that I have seen from the outside have character, guts and who seem like they have a winning mentality to stay and fight for this club.
“We have also tried to add players to them and who have those same characteristics. If you haven’t got guts and personality out on the pitch, you will be found out pretty quickly and I won’t have you here for very long.
“The players know, in the face of adversity, you need to stand up and be counted. I think a lot of teams and players would have folded with that equaliser and felt sorry for themselves. My players went the other way, which is one of the pleasing things from the game looking back on it.”
Focus on the positives
Gerrard is clearly focusing on the positives here as you would expect. But there’s no denying that the overall display against Accies won’t have impressed the Liverpool legend.
It was Rangers’ first win in five away matches in the league this season. Everyone connected with Rangers, however, would’ve liked to have seen a more convincing all-round display.
Moving on from the Accies match, however, and Rangers fans can be pleased at the new standards in place at Ibrox. Too often under previous managers did too many Rangers players get away with hiding. Poor performance after poor performance started to become the norm for the Gers, and the club as a whole.
Gerrard, however, has brought this air of confidence back to the club. His demand for perfection and the highest possible standards has gone down extremely well in Govan. These comments are the kind that have made him a much-loved figure at Ibrox this season.
It’s important the Rangers players heed their manager’s words. Performances are expected to be much better than it was on Sunday, and they shouldn’t just feel satisfied at the scoreline.
If the performances don’t improve immediately, it’s clear Gerrard won’t mess about and will have them out the team.
