ON RED ALERT

Gerrard had to take off duo as referee ‘could not be trusted’

PROGRES ................. 0 RANGERS ................. 0 (RANGERS WIN 2-0 ON AGG)

STEVEN GERRARD revealed he substituted two of his Rangers stars during last night’s stalemate against Progres Niederkorn because he couldn’t risk them landing unwarranted red cards from Bulgarian referee Ivaylo Stoyanov.

The Ibrox manager admitted it had been a ‘grind’ of a performance as his side set up a Europa League third qualifying round meeting with Danish outfit FC Midtjylland — thanks to a 2-0 first-leg win over their 2017 conquerors.

Gerrard felt the pitch and match ball were contributors to the underwhelming display in Luxembourg, but was also frustrated by the performance of Stoyanov.

Borna Barisic was substituted at half-time following a harsh early booking, with Gerrard

also taking action when Scott Arfield was shown a yellow card in the second period. ‘I took Borna off at half-time because I can’t take any risks with him,’ said Gerrard, who is keen for his side to avoid last season’s disciplinary issues. ‘I have to think of the team instead of the individual and it was the same with Scotty Arfield when he got booked. ‘I can’t have any ill-discipline because I didn’t trust the officials tonight. The way the officials were, there was every chance there could have been a second yellow and I don’t need that moving forward. ‘Borna’s booking wasn’t even a foul, the guy just ran into him, but they (Progres) were just constantly fouling all night long. ‘It was difficult to get into a rhythm, especially when everything was against you. The ball was light, it was a balloon, bobbling everywhere. They use different balls in different places until you get into the group stage. ‘The pitch was dry, the dressing room was 155 degrees. Everything. It was just a grind the whole night.’ While content to progress, Gerrard admits Rangers will have to be more clinical in front of goal against Midtjylland if they want to maintain their hopes of repeating last season’s group-stage qualification. The first leg of that tie takes place in Herning next Thursday evening. ‘We were better in the second half,’ added Gerrard, who is optimistic Steven Davis will be fit for Sunday’s Premiership opener against Kilmarnock after being left in Glasgow to nurse a hamstring strain. ‘We have to finish those moves off because against tougher tests we could come unstuck, so I am wanting a bit more quality in the final third. ‘It was an efficient performance even if it was a grind. But we had to grind last year, too, to get to where we wanted. ‘Midtjylland have more experience than St Joseph’s and Progres and better individual players and they play in a better league. They have some really good individuals. ‘As we go along we know it’s going to get tougher. It did last year but sometimes you have to just get over the line in any way, shape or form. ‘We did that tonight without being really good on the eye.’ Meanwhile, Leeds striker Kemar Roofe — linked as a potential replacement for Alfredo Morelos if the Colombian is sold this summer — is attracting interest from Belgian outfit Anderlecht.