Davis must rise to the challenge to earn Ibrox midfield starting spot

STEVEN Gerrard insists midfielder Steven Davis will prove his worth at Ibrox despite a sluggish start on his return to Rangers from Southampton.

The Northern Irishman brought an end to his time in the Premier League when he clinched a loan deal during the January transfer window. But he has struggled to make the impact many expected and he wasn’t in the squad for the Scottish Cup quarter-final tie with Aberdeen last Sunday.

Gerrard confirmed he expected Davis to rejoin Rangers on a permanent basis at the end of the season when his St Mary’s contract expired. And he hopes the 34-year-old is ready for a battle to win a starting spot.

“We have had quite a few conversations since he arrived but I won’t be getting into the habit of pulling an individual player in every two or three days or over-speaking to them because I think they get bored of your voice,” Gerrard said.

“What I do is make it clear to the players, as a group, that this is how it works and I pick the players who I think will get the job done, players in form, players who want to keep hold of the shirt and fight for the shirt and we go from there. Keep pushing, keep fighting. Keep earning the right to get an opportunity.

“Listen, no-one can knock on my door and say they haven’t had a fair crack at the whip.

“I think sometimes it comes down to individuals to analyse their situation and self-reflect, basically find the answers to any questions themselves. They need to ask themselves ‘what do I need to do to get another opportunity?’ And then ‘what do I need to do to take that opportunity?’ I’ve got no doubts that if we get the best Steven Davis there will be game time and opportunities for him in the short, medium and long term.

“That [his lack of game time at Southampton] might also be a reason. Maybe we will just need to be a bit more patient and build fitness up and build confidence up. I’m sure being out of the frame at Southampton would have affected his mental thinking and also his physical condition.

“And I think because of the name, and because he had a fantastic career and we know the talent, everyone is expecting him to take to it like a duck to water because he’s been here and won before. But it changes.

“I think it’s a great challenge for a player to try to shift someone out of his way to get more opportunities. I don’t see it as a negative, I see it as a positive for the player, the team and for myself because I welcome people fighting for the shirt.”