Gerrard wants playmaker on board for group stages but says no to Everton ace
STEVEN GERRARD last night cooled talk he was on the verge of capturing Everton’s Mo Besic – but he is pushing hard to land a playmaker before Monday’s deadline. The Ibrox boss is looking to add one more key signing before the window shuts while keeping hold
FROM BACK PAGE of key men and has been tracking £4million-rated Preston schemer Daniel Johnson.
Director of football Ross Wilson is pursuing several options and has been alerted to the availability of stars such as Stoke City’s Tom Ince and Goodison man Besic.
Gerrard’s hopes of strengthening have been boosted after he steered the Light Blues to the Europa League group stage for the third year on the spin following Thursday night’s stunning win against Galatasaray.
But he said: “I’m not going to be mentioning any names here. Someone has just asked me if Besic is up in Glasgow having a medical with Rangers. That would be news to me if he was.
“Nothing has changed in terms of what we’re trying to do in the last few days of the window.
“Does qualifying give us more flexibility ahead of the deadline on Monday? It’s a difficult question to answer.
“We are still trying to add the person in the position we feel we need before the window shuts.
“But we’ll have to see how the next three days pan out in terms of ins and outs. It’s difficult to control because you never know what’s going to land on your desk and whether you are able to get someone over the line when you are trying to make it happen.
“There certainly won’t be [multiple] additions. If we do well in the next couple of days there might be an addition.”
Gerrard declared himself delighted with the Europa League draw after Gers landed a crack at Benfica, Standard Liege and Lech Poznan and challenged his squad to repeat last season’s heroics after reaching the knockout stages.
He said: “The challenge is to try to get out of the group, of course it is. No-one will be shouting from the rooftops because we have to respect the opposition that are in the group.
“They are good teams in their own right, they have got good players. But we will take each game as it comes, give it everything we have got.
“I’d be disappointed if we don’t get out of the group because the players have shown over the last couple of years we’ve got a level in Europe, we are a tough nut to crack and we’ve shown amazing quality going forward as well.
“We will be a good contest for anyone in the group, home or away.”
Gerrard admitted his side poured a lot into the Galatasaray win but he’s looking to maintain the momentum against Ross County at Ibrox tomorrow.
He added: “It’s all about the mentality and attitude and coming quick out the blocks against Ross County.
“We had to leave a lot on the pitch so have to recover and get the three points, we want to stay top as long as possible.”