Gerrard says season must finish in ‘right way’ as fears mount

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard insists Scottish football must play out this season to a finish.

The Ibrox boss has seen his runaway league leaders take a 21-point advantage at the top of the table but there are fears among the Gers faithful their bid to end a decade-long wait to lift the club’s 55th league title could be derailed by the Covid-19 crisis.

Fears were heightened yesterday when Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster gave a round of interviews in which he claimed the possibility of the current campaign being declared null and void in the event of another large-scale outbreak is on the table.

Doncaster said: “You’ve got to bear in mind over 75% of games had been played in all four divisions of the SPFL when the season was curtailed.

“We certainly hope we will complete 100% of the fixtures in all four divisions this season.

“It will be for the members to determine what happens in the event they are not.”

Celtic were handed last season’s title on a pointsper-game basis after coronavirus forced the cancellation of the campaign, but Gerrard would prefer to see his team declared champions on the field.

The Light Blues boss, preparing his team for tomorrow’s trip to Motherwell, told Sky

Sports: “I’ve read through the interview and what Neil has done is he has put every option and possibility on the table.

“My opinion on this is exactly the same as it was in March and April.

“For football’s sake and the sake of competition I think everything has to try to be finished in the right way.

“I am not just saying that now because we are sitting where we are in the competition this year.

“Because my opinion was exactly the same in March and April.

“My opinion will never change as long as I am involved in the game.”

● Celtic will again have Gavin Strachan in the dugout for today’s home game with Livingston, but the first-team coach expects the self-isolating players and management staff back for Wednesday’s trip to face the same opponents.

Christopher Jullien’s positive test for coronavirus following the club’s return from a training camp in Dubai saw 13 first-team players having to self-isolate along with manager Neil Lennon and assistant John Kennedy.

Strachan said: “I think we have some guys back in on Sunday, and some back in on Monday, as I understand it.

“They will be assessed in terms of their fitness because they have been off for a little while but they should be available for selection.”