Gerrard vows to get tough
RANGERS IN SPAIN Gerrard vows to make sure that the days of Rangers being labelled soft touches are over
STEVEN GERRARD insists Rangers will no longer be a soft touch under his command. The Ibrox manager is seeking a tougher edge after examining how last season brought a record number of home defeats and the concession of 50 Premiership goals. Having added more physical power with his seven summer signings to date, Gerrard said: ‘The focus and the priority is to stiffen up and be tougher. ‘Teams can’t look forward to playing Rangers anymore. Those days have to stop.’
They have to be prepared to go in where it hurts to defend the badge
ASHORT, steep road winds down from the hotel in which the Rangers squad ate and slept during their ten-day Spanish training camp.
At its end is a pitch exposed to the full glare of the Andalusian sun. It was here that Steven Gerrard set about working minds and bodies, planting the unshakeable demands from which he hopes success will grow.
One video clip that surfaced on Twitter captured Gerrard (below) demanding an intense approach to a pressing drill before telling his players: ‘We go to win the ball — all over the pitch. Okay? Get it in your heads, now.’
That attitude will be one pillar he wants from Rangers next season. To be on the front foot, in opponents’ faces, making their presence felt. He is adamant they must no longer be considered a soft touch by anyone.
To that end, Gerrard has prioritised improving the physical profile of the squad during his transfer dealings to date. A hunger to succeed under the pressure ever-present in front of 50,000 fans is a further essential box to be ticked. Given a record number of home league games were lost last term, those attributes have clearly been lacking.
With Rangers due back in the UK last night, a friendly against Bury next Friday will now give Ibrox its first sight of a team under Gerrard’s command. Then comes his competitive debut as manager in the Europa League first qualifying round, first leg against FK Shkupi on July 12. From there, the blueprint for Gerrard’s Rangers will unfold.
‘I think it is difficult to put it in a couple of sentences but we will be aggressive,’ said the former England captain, whose men will also meet Welsh side TNS in a closed-doors friendly at their Auchenhowie base.
‘Out of possession, I want my team to be aggressive. They have to be prepared to go in where it hurts to defend the badge and the goal.
‘I think the big problem at Rangers last year was that we conceded too many goals, sloppy goals, unnecessary goals.
‘That is the reason why the season was a grind and a slog, and probably the reason that I am here.
‘The focus and the priority is to stiffen up and be tougher. We need to be organised out of possession, difficult to play and people need to feel Rangers when they play against them now.
‘It can’t be… teams can’t look forward to playing Rangers any more. Those days have to stop. That is the priority. ‘I think any Rangers manager that has managed before, or that will manage in the future, you have to excite these fans. You are one of the top teams in the league, you have 50,000 punters every other week that come and pay good money and support the team.
‘You have a responsibility and pressure as a Rangers player to excite and be creative and entertain. That’s not going to happen in every game. You do have off days, I get it, but we need to bring a style and philosophy here that will excite the supporters.’
Asked directly if he thought Rangers were a bit soft last season, Gerrard responded: ‘What do you think?’ New personnel has been required to deliver a new approach. Scott Arfield, Allan McGregor, Jamie Murphy, Ovie Ejaria, Nikola Katic, Connor Goldson and Jon Flanagan have all been signed this summer. Umar Sadiq — 6ft 3in — is expected to follow on loan from Roma to provide more power up front.
Gerrard’s recruitment methods require more than a measuring tape and scales, however. Having first joined the Liverpool academy aged nine, he would seem well versed in rooting out those who simply wish for the glamour of association with a big club.
‘Before we move for players, it is important you do background checks on personality and character. It is important that you speak to the players face to face,’ added Gerrard. ‘You get a feel of where they are at in their careers.
‘The biggest thing for me is hunger. I don’t want to bring a player in here who is not hungry, I don’t want to bring a player in who just wants to wear the Rangers kit and tell everyone they are a Rangers player.
‘That doesn’t work. I want players who want to come in and fight for success and good times, players who understand what the fans have been through in the last couple of years.
‘That is the type of player that I want coming through the door. Players that have got their best years ahead of them to deliver.
‘Of course we need to get the right balance of experience and players at the right age but a lot of the players we have brought in have got their careers in front of them, their best years in front of them. They understand what we are trying to do and that is the key.’
Gerrard is assisted by a coaching staff — Gary McAllister, Michael Beale, Tom Culshaw and Jordan Milsom — who all share his background at Anfield. Yet the 38-year-old rejects the idea of importing a philosophy from his previous employers.
‘I’m not bringing a Liverpool template here — that would be disrespectful to Rangers,’ insisted Gerrard. ‘I have had my time at Liverpool. I did my first year coaching at Liverpool and it is obviously a special club and I have wonderful memories.
‘But Liverpool stops now and it is about Rangers and having a template and philosophy that suits Rangers.
‘Of course, my upbringing and what I saw at Liverpool and what I liked at Liverpool, I want to see similar things here at Rangers. But I am certainly not trying to turn Rangers into Liverpool. We have to do what is best for Rangers.’