Gerrard thanks hosts for early warning over pitch

RANGERS manager Steven Gerrard said there was nothing for Motherwell to be ashamed of after revealing the Steelmen flagged up the condition of the Fir Park pitch ahead of their clash.

After the 1-1 draw, Gerrard refused to blame the state of the surface for a rare poor performance by his side and appreciated the heads-up from the Fir Park outfit after a prolonged period of bad weather took its toll.

“We had an email off Motherwell to be fair a few days ago talking about the standard of the pitch but we knew that at this stage of the season you’re not going to get perfect pitches,” Gerrard said.

“Ibrox isn’t perfect at the moment. It is what it is. We have to be ready for these type of environments and these pitches and we have to get on with can.

“I don’t think the pitch was to blame for our first 45 minutes because you can’t blame a pitch for being passive and having no quality.

“In an ideal world we want to play on a perfect pitch but at this stage it’s not going to be the case but there’s no fingers pointed at Motherwell because given the weather and the conditions and the country we play in, it is what it is.

“It was heads-up that if we had a period of weather that was bad the game could be 50-50. Thankfully the game went ahead but we appreciated the heads up but it’s nothing for Motherwell to be ashamed of because you see all the pitches, you saw Hibs’ pitch on Sportscene, Celtic Park, Ibrox, I think a lot of people are having issues.” it and do what we