Gerrard calls for cooler heads as the cards pile up

STEVEN GERRARD has urged his side to cut down on the cards after recording victory over St Mirren despite another Premiership sending-off. The Rangers manager insisted he had no complaints about referee Don Robertson’s 31st-minute dismissal of Ross McCrorie for denying a goalscoring opportunity to St Mirren debutant Nicolai Brock-Madsen. Already 2-0 up through goals from Alfredo Morelos and Connor Goldson, Gerrard was pleased by the solid way the 10 men saw it through for a first league victory. Morelos was free to play only after Rangers successfully appealed against his controversial red card in the previous weekend’s 1-1 draw against Aberdeen. Admitting he withdrew £1.5million debutant Borna Barisic in the second half because he was on a booking, Gerrard (below) stressed the importance of retaining composure. ‘I’m very happy with the result and performance in the circumstances,’ he said. ‘Again, we’ve got down to 10 men. I thought that was the correct decision. Every single one of them rolled their sleeves up and did what they had to do. ‘I was pleased with the clean sheet in the circumstances. It’s a positive result for us. I would have liked to keep 11 on the pitch and maybe win the game more emphatically but it’s all about three points. We are picking up too many red and yellow cards but we’ll learn, grow and keep going.’ Rangers, looking to capitalise on Celtic’s defeat by Hearts, went ahead in the 14th minute when Jack Baird was unable to sort his feet out on the edge of his area. Jamie Murphy dug in to win possession from the defender and force the ball through to Morelos. Closing in on an inviting angle, the Colombian made no mistake. Rangers doubled their lead 10 minutes later, with Barisic lodging an assist on his bow. The Croat’s free-kick, slung deep into the area, was tailor-made for Goldson. Showing too much power for his markers, the £3m buy from Brighton headed home.