KAMARA ON LIFE AT IBROX & STEVIE G

Gers star lifts lid on Stevie G’s midfield masterclasses as he eyes Euro glory

RANGERS star Glen Kamara reckons daily midfield masterclasses with Steven Gerrard have helped him up his game.

The 24-year-old was signed from Dundee back in January and has quickly established himself as a first pick under the guidance of the Liverpool and England legend.

Kamara has started every Europa League group game and in recent weeks has also made the holding midfield position his own in domestic competition.

Things could scarcely be any better at Ibrox and that’s the case with his country too as he prepares to make history with Finland by blazing a trail to Euro 2020.

Speaking of Gerrard, Kamara said: “The manager has been massive for me and the whole team.

“He has helped us all collectively and he has also really helped me individually as well.

“He has me working on a few things in training and just wants me to express myself more.

“The boss wants me to get on the ball, influence the games and have more belief in myself.

“He has given me the confidence to go out and play.

“We have a lot of competition in the Rangers midfield but that has been good. You need that competitive side in the squad.

“We have had a lot of games and we have a lot more coming up, domestically and in Europe.

“So you always need strength in depth in your squad.

“I feel I have been doing OK and in every game I have just been trying to improve myself.

“I now have better players around me and that is without being disrespectful to any of the teams or players I’ve played with in the past.

“When you play with top players, like I am at Rangers, then you respond to them.”

Steven Davis is now getting back to the sort of form he showed in his first Ibrox spell and Kamara admits the Northern Ireland star has also been a big influence.

His fellow midfielder said: “Steven has been great for me.

“You learn a lot from just watching him in training or games.

“His experience, movement and intelligence are all there for all to see. He has been great since he came into the club and the good thing is he is so experienced having played at the top level.” Rangers are matching champions Celtic step for step at the top of the table and in the Europa League they have really come to the fore, sitting second in Group G above Feyenoord and Porto.

Kamara said: “That has been a massive experience. It has been good for us playing against some top teams and players.

“We have really been able to test ourselves and it has been great. We are doing well in our group and had a great result against Porto last week. We are in a good position.”

Kamara has also been a huge part of Finland’s success.

If the midfielder can help them beat Group J minnows Liechtenstein at home on Friday then they will book their place at next year’s Euro finals.

It will be the first time in Finland’s 112-year footballing history that any of their full men’s teams have qualified for the finals of a European Championship or World Cup.

And Kamara said: “It would be massive for Finland because we have never been in a major finals.

“So it would be huge for the team and us individually to get the chance to play in the Euro finals.

“It is an exciting time to be around Finnish football.

“It is a big game for us because we know if we can pick up the three points that we are through.”

Euro 2020 fever is in full swing in Kamara’s homeland.

The sold-out signs went up in Helsinki’s Telia 5G Areena weeks ago as its 10,770 seats were snapped up by fans desperate to see history made.

Kamara will cheered on by friends and wants t o finish the job in style on Friday, even though they also have the fallback of a trip to Greece on Monday to get the points they need to finish second behind Italy in the group.

The Gers ace said: “The game is in the capital and it is already a sell-out. I will have a few friends at the game from my time out in Finland. They are all really excited.

“It is a massive story in Finland just now. Most of the country are talking about the team qualifying and it has gradually built up with the media the longer the campaign has gone on.

“It is great for the national team and Finland as a country.”

The Finns can’t catch Italy at the summit as the leaders have won all eight of their group games.

The highlight for Kamara was the 2-0 home win over the Bosnians thanks to a Teemu Puuki double.

The Ibrox star also reckons they should have shocked the Italians only for a controversial late penalty to seal a 2-1 defeat in Helsinki.

Kamara said: “We have had a tough group. Bosnia have top players, Armenia was one we didn’t know much about and Greece are always a big footballing nation so we knew the challenges.

“We came close to sneaking a draw against Italy. That was a sore one because we did well against them and lost to a penalty we thought was

harsh.”

Roberto Mancini’s big-hitters were always favourites to top the section but Finland have defied the odds in pushing into second place, in front of Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece.

The gaffer has been massive for me and the whole team in general

GLEN KAMARA ON IMPACT OF STEVEN GERRARD