I’M HELPLESS

Gerrard says Kent’s future at Ibrox is out of his hands

STEVEN GERRARD admits a decision on Ryan Kent’s future could ultimately be taken out of his hands despite a strong desire to retain the Leeds United target.

The Ibrox manager confirmed an initial offer from the newly-promoted English Premier League outfit — thought to be worth around £10million — had already been rejected as he sent a ‘hands-off’ message to Elland Road.

However, while Leeds are currently well short of Rangers’ valuation, Gerrard recognises that a significantly improved bid in the remaining weeks of the transfer window could yet prompt an exit.

He also declined to be drawn on whether a release clause featured in the four-year

KIRK BROADFOOT believes an empty Ibrox will work in favour of Rangers if Kilmarnock again put the squeeze on Steven Gerrard’s side.

The Rugby Park outfit have denied the hosts victory on four of their last six league trips to Govan and will look to extend that record this afternoon.

However, former Rangers defender Broadfoot argues that empty stands will ease the pressure on his old club if they are toiling for a breakthrough.

‘That will benefit them,’ said the 36-year-old. ‘Normally, if we go there and we’re winning or drawing after an hour or so, you’ll hear the groans coming down from the stands. That gets to players and maybe they would then start to shell it long.

‘However, they don’t have that to contend with now. Without the fans driving them on, they can afford to be a bit more patient. Fans can turn on you very quickly whenever you make a mistake but that won’t be happening either.

‘They have good, strong players and I’ve seen they were learning how to cope with that, but playing behind closed doors will help them — especially when they’re playing against a team like us, who will go there and try to frustrate them.’

A winner of three league titles during five years at Ibrox, Broadfoot (right) is aware of the scrutiny being applied to Gerrard’s team this season as they seek to stop Celtic from winning a tenth successive crown.

The outcry following last week’s stalemate at Livingston underlined the additional pressure that will grow in the weeks and months ahead.

‘I think so — and you guys (in the media) will be stoking it up as well,’ added Broadfoot.

‘Whenever one of the two (Celtic or Rangers) drop points, then it’s like that means the other one will win the league — except I think that they will both continue to drop points over the course of the season. Maybe it will come down to which of them does better in the Old Firm games. We’ll need to wait and see, but it’s going to be tight and interesting.

‘From my point of view, I only care about what Kilmarnock will do. Perhaps the fact the stakes are so high will help us and the other Premiership clubs. There is pressure on both every year but this season there will be more than ever before.’

With Rangers seeking to bounce back from those first dropped points, Broadfoot expects Kilmarnock’s backline to be under persistent strain.

It’s possible Gerrard could rejig his attacking armoury after again stating that Alfredo Morelos has had his ‘head turned’ by transfer speculation.

Kemar Roofe may feature and Broadfoot knows the quality of the £3.5million Ibrox newcomer from his time at Rotherham.

‘I came up against him a couple of times when he was at Leeds United and I thought he was excellent, a really clever player,’ he said. ‘He gets himself into very good areas and he will be a good acquisition for Rangers.

‘For people who haven’t seen Roofe before, he’s also very good in the air for his size. He’ll come short and link the play and, the next thing you know, he’ll be in the box and ready to finish off the move.’ While they have drawn with Celtic, Kilmarnock are still seeking their first league win of the season after last week’s late collapse against St Johnstone following Ross Millen’s red card. ‘Even when we went down to ten men, I didn’t think we would lose the game but a couple of rash moments cost the three points,’ admitted Broadfoot. ‘If we can cut them out, I think we’ll be okay this year. Our results have been disappointing but we’ve been encouraged by our performances. ‘The management and coaching staff have been blameless — their tactics have actually worked but we have let them down with individual errors. ‘We played really well on the first day against Hibs at Easter Road and should have taken something from that game, but a rush of blood to the head from the goalie (Jake Eastwood) cost us a goal, although it’s difficult when you’re not up to speed. ‘Then we drew 1-1 at home to Celtic, which was a positive result because, at the end of the day, it was a free hit for us. But they never really looked like scoring after taking the lead. ‘We haven’t won yet but there is certainly no doom and gloom here.’