Gerrard licking wounds but still ready for battle Transfer targets under wraps
Rangers manager plans to shake off Perth disappointment in time for Old Firm bout
VICTORY over Celtic on Sunday won’t cure the agony for Steven Gerrard. It will start to ease the pain for Rangers. Come the final whistle at Ibrox, just two fixtures – away to Livingston and at home to Aberdeen – will remain this season for the champions.
Gerrard knows another two games could, and probably should, have been added to that schedule after Rangers set their sights on the Scottish Cup this term. Defeat to St Johnstone saw those dreams turn into a nightmare, though.
It was a result that would give many associated with Rangers a sleepless night. Yet Gerrard is well-versed in dealing with the positives and negatives and remaining level headed to ensure he can focus on the next challenge.
“I think that is the nature of the game and the beast,” Gerrard said. “Football is a journey of highs and lows.
“The highs take you to incredible places and the lows are always tough and that is the challenge, to bounce back as quickly as you can and in the best way you can.
“I am in a good place, I am looking forward to the weekend. That doesn’t mean that going out against St Johnstone still doesn’t linger and hurt, of course it does. We are human beings and I am sure the players are feeling the same. But the best way to make yourself feel better is to react and respond and try and get a positive result as quickly as you can.
“The next game is a big one for us so I am sure if we can get the right result in this fixture we will be feeling a lot better about ourselves.”
The six weeks since Rangers were crowned champions have been strange for Gerrard’s staff and squad and their supporters.
It has been a time largely of disappointment as their Europa League campaign was ended by Slavia Prague and St Johnstone denied them a place at Hampden.
This business stage of the campaign is usually where leagues are won or lost. As Rangers go in search of a fourth derby win of the season, they have different goals to achieve in terms of an unbeaten league run and points and clean sheets targets.
Gerrard said: “I think unique is the right word. Obviously it is an early stage to win the title and the challenge from there is to try and keep the players motivated all the way until the end.
“I think the good thing from our point of view is that there are still some things that we want to try and achieve as a group.
“We want to try and set a clean sheet record if we can, we want to try and remain unbeaten. We have got a big game to look forward to this weekend. From my personal point of view, I want to try and keep the players as motivated as a I can to try and finish the season as strong as we can.
“But it is a unique situation to win the league on March 7 and that weekend is unique because it is early and naturally there will be certain players that just come away from where they were previous to that.
“Everyone was in such a zone and so focused to get the club over the line because what we were trying to achieve was so important.”
Gerrard made it clear in the aftermath of their title win that the Scottish Cup had become a priority for Rangers. In the end, it was only another source of frustration.
Rangers have still not progressed beyond the last eight in that competition under Gerrard, while the defeat to Celtic last term is their only final appearance in six attempts.
It is a record that deserves to be scrutinised and criticised. Yet the significance of title 55 continues to overshadow all other factors in what has been a unique season for many reasons.
Gerrard said: “The cup situation is not sitting well with me right now. It’s still a little bit raw from St Johnstone.
“It’s something that motivates me and I want to challenge everyone else to put that right moving forward.
“As a club, we are always looking to improve. When the window opens, recruitment never stops.
“We are always looking for targets to help the group, support the group. For us to be stronger and better equipped.
“But, look, if I was sitting here as the League Cup champion and looking forward to a Scottish Cup semi-final but we were miles behind in the league, this season would be a massive failure.
“The remit this season, the main focus, was the league. That doesn’t say we didn’t want to go for everything.
“We gave everything we could from a European point of view and I think it was a really respectable performance from the players again.
“We fell short in the cups domestically. That’s on all of us.
“We have to put that right moving forward. We’ll try and strengthen the group at the right time to give us a better shot at it next year.”
The cup situation is not sitting well with me. It’s still a little bit raw from St Johnstone
Gerrard said: “There were a couple of names a week before and a week before that.
“If there’s anything to say in terms of ins and outs, I will be the first to tell you.
“We are tracking certain individuals to try and make the group stronger when the window opens.
“I don’t think it’s the right time to mention individual names or targets that we’re looking at.
“We never wait, we’re always working in the background.
“We obviously coach the team on the training pitch and that’s the priority, to prepare the team from game to game.
“But a lot of extra work, a lot of extra hours even at home and during international breaks and the off season is put in.
“It never stops in terms of my dialogue with Ross [Wilson] and the scouts in trying to identify areas of the team that might make us stronger and give us a better chance of being successful going forward.
“It’s not a case of waiting until the final whistle against Aberdeen and then start talking about the next window.
“I think you can see from the arrival of Scott Wright and Jack Simpson that we’re always trying to be ahead of the game and on the front foot.”