WE’RE ASSET IN OUR WAYS
Rangers boss Gerrard determined to keep his stars for title charge
STEVEN GERRARD knows the vultures will be circling Ibrox next month.
The form of the likes of James Tavernier, Borna Barisic, Ryan Kent and Glen Kamara makes it inevitable, and that’s before he even thinks about the Alfredo Morelos saga that inevitably unfolds every time the transfer window is unsnibbed.
But the Rangers boss has no doubt the suits at the top of the marble staircase won’t be tempted to sell any of his top players with so much riding on a season that promises so much.
He takes his team to Tannadice tomorrow for their 27th outing of the season and they haven’t lost any of them. They’ve kept clean sheets in all but six of the previous 26 and in the league they’ve played exactly 24 hours of football – 16 games – and conceded only three goals.
It’s an astonishing run of form and if it continues against Dundee United they’ll be 16 points of clear of Celtic before their rivals kick off against Kilmarnock.
Gerrard is determined that nothing will be allowed to rock the boat and that includes unwanted bids for any of his main men.
He has already publicly stated that giving Kamara – believed to be one of the lower earners at the moment – a much-improved contract is a priority and yesterday he made no apologies for returning to the subject.
“It’s pretty simple,” Gerrard said. “It’s my job to advise when I think people deserve to be rewarded. It’s my job to advise when I predict there is a lot of noise around a certain individual and obviously to try to protect the club, the team and everyone from a situation where we could lose one of our best players.
“That’s the reason why I said last night we need to try to move his personal situation forward. The board is aware of it, they are on the same page and I think it will only be a matter of time. But basically that is my job and that’s what I did.
“We’re trying to build a team here. Everyone is working ever so hard to move the team forward. I think the last thing we need now is to lose a big part of that jigsaw. Glen has been absolutely sensational since he came in and it’s not just about what you’ve got left on your contract, it’s about what you deserve.”
Gerrard is clearly expecting a bid for the midfielder but is confident Kamara will be a Rangers player when he gets the chance to showcase his ability for Finland at the Euros next summer.
He said: “We are really looking forward to him going and representing Rangers in a good way. He is a magnificent player, we appreciate what he does and he has progressed and moved on ever so well. “He is a fantastic kid to work with, he does everything right and I would like to see him rewarded for that work that he has put in. “It (interest) is only natural when you are performing well domestically and when you a re p u tt i n g in performances like Thursday night consistently. It is only normal that there are a lot of people looking in and there is a lot of noise around Glen.
“He is not the only one. The European level, if you perform well at that level, from my experience, people are watching and looking in and we need to protect ourselves from that.
“The club is aware what everyone’s contract situation is and aware of who is performing ever so well and who is going above and beyond and performing very consistently at the moment.
“All the players are aware that we want to speak moving forward and it is about timing. At the right time, if things keep going as they are, I am sure the right
people will be rewarded at the right time.”
Gerrard made seven changes on Thursday and watched his team breeze through the match comfortably. He now has a selection dilemma, but one most managers would kill for.
“We’ve come through last night with no issues,” he said. “There’s a little bit of fatigue and bumps that you normally get but no one is a concern for the weekend, which is a real big positive for us.
“You could see quite clearly on Thursday the decisions that we made and we obviously had one eye on the weekend’s fixture. I don’t think it will be any surprise to see a few changes. The good thing for me is that everyone is performing ever so well, everyone is training well, everyone is giving me something to think about.
“There is a lot of football coming up, the games are coming thick and fast and everyone needs to be ready to come in and contribute at the right time.
“But obviously we made decisions on the team selection and the substitutions with one eye on the weekend so I don’t think it will surprise to many when they see a different 11.
“They will be competitive and they have got good players so we are expecting a tough challenge on Sunday. Everyone knows what we’re about and what we try and do in terms of our philosophy – and the expectations and standards we have tried to set.
“New players have enough time now to settle in. The idea was always to try and build a squad where we had two players fighting for each position.
“The training intensity is really where we want it so, look, we are in a good place. But the challenge is that you have to work even harder, fight even harder, to maintain form and keep everyone in a good place.
“That’s what we are doing from day to day. I’m really content with where we are just now. The challenge for everyone is can we maintain it?”