WE NEED A VITAL SPARK
Gerrard worried by his side’s lack of scoring threat
STEVEN GERRARD last night warned his shot-shy Rangers strikers to find their scoring touch fast after insisting his team suffered from a ‘serious lack of quality’ in the final third against FK Shkupi.
The Ibrox side avoided a repeat of last year’s Europa League humiliation in Luxembourg with a professional, if scoreless, draw in Macedonia.
However, as they prepare for a step up in quality against Croatians Osijek or Petrocub of Moldova in the next qualifying round, Gerrard called for greater improvement from Alfredo Morelos and Co.
Insisting Rangers should have put Shkupi to bed with a decisive away goal, the Ibrox boss said: ‘It was very
professional. I was happy with the shape, I was happy with a lot of things about our game out of possession and I thought we managed the game well. ‘Besides one chance at the death, which was an excellent chance for them, I thought we were pretty solid and clean in terms of out of possession. ‘In possession, in the first 30 minutes, we were nowhere near good enough at retaining the ball. We kept giving it back, winning it back, giving it back. ‘You can’t do that away in Europe, you have got to hide the ball for long periods in a game and enjoy being on the ball. I don’t think we passed the ball well enough and throughout the game there was a serious lack of quality in the final third. ‘Our ball retention needs to improve and the thing that is smacking me in the face right now is our quality in the final third. We need to improve sharpish. ‘I’m a bit mixed right now. We’re pleased with one side of the game but there is certainly a hell of a lot of work to do on the other side.’ Only a week into pre-season training, on-loan Roma striker Umar Sadiq remains a fitness doubt for next week’s second qualifying round. With Morelos an increasingly frustrated figure in attack, however, Gerrard admits something has to change fast. ‘You saw two sides of Rangers,’ he added. ‘You saw a very solid team, very organised, good game management and shape. ‘We created some chances but, at the moment, we are not looking sharp and 100 per cent in front of goal. But I’m confident that will come. ‘Umar Sadiq joined us nine days ago. He is still working very hard to regain full fitness alongside Lassana Coulibaly. ‘Those players will join the squad moving forward and hopefully they will be available for the next round.’ Gerrard had warned his players before kick-off that he would accept no excuses for throwing away a two-goal cushion. Pleased with a calm and composed display alongside new Croat central-defensive partner Nikola Katic, £3million signing Connor Goldson said: ‘We came here knowing what we had to do. ‘There weren’t any really nervous moments, perhaps one at the end. It was all about managing the game and I felt we did that brilliantly. ‘It’s all about building team spirit and getting that winning mentality back into the club.’ Confirming Rangers have missed out on Derby Countybound Liverpool winger Harry Wilson, meanwhile, Gerrard added: ‘Harry Wilson has already made a decision on his future and he won’t be playing for Rangers.’