Stevie G just excited about Villarreal clash

STEVEN Gerrard admitted any disappointment about Thursday night’s agonising 4-3 defeat to Spartak Moscow in Russia is overshadowed by excitement about the prospect of taking on Villarreal in front of a packed Ibrox in three weeks’ time.

Rangers threw away the winning position they had at half time in the Spartak Stadium, but with the other match ending in a draw, Group D remains wide open as the Spaniards prepare to visit Glasgow. As scathing as Gerrard was about the individual defensive mistakes which littered their performance, Rangers’ hopes of reaching the last 32 are far from extinguished.

“Strangely enough, I am not too disappointed this morning because I am already looking forward to Villarreal,” said Gerrard. “I’m really excited for that game. It will be a cold night at Ibrox, a full house and very noisy. They players should be excited about that opportunity.

“We are all aware that qualifying has become a little more difficult now. But we roll onto that game and give our best shot again.”

The former Liverpool captain stood by his post-match criticisms of his players, having said that Under-12s or Under13 players should be able to clear the ball with both feet.

“I’ve not had much time to reflect but enough to watch the game back,” he said. “What I said in the postmatch conference is still my opinion.

“I’m really proud of the boys in terms of their effort and application. We attacked really well and looked dangerous throughout the game.

“We did really well to score three goals.”