The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Albanian winger pledges things can only get better after debut
Eros Grezda has promised the Rangers support he will only get better after a frustrating full debut for Steven Gerrard’s side.
The Albanian winger was forced to wait until Saturday’s clash with St Mirren to break into the starting XI.
Having arrived with an ankle injury following a £2 million switch from Croatian side Osijek, it has taken the 23-year-old time to get back up to speed.
And he still appeared rusty as he toiled through a 55-minute run-out at the Simple Digital Arena.
He did smash a post with his last kick before being replaced by Daniel Candeias, whose late strike teed up a 2-0 win for the Light Blues.
But Grezda has vowed he will get stronger and slicker with more action.
“It was OK but I’m still not there because it was my first game in the starting XI,” he said after being asked to assess his first start.
“I’m quite happy but it’s going to get better and better.
“Was I frustrated at being left on the bench for so long? No because I was concentrated only on training and putting in hard work.
“I was waiting for my chance. Now I look fitter than I was. Everybody knows I didn’t play for a long time because of injury.
“Now I feel better. I really feel I’m coming back. I feel I still need more games but I’m almost there.
“I thought the ball was going in when I had my shot before coming off.
“A little bit of luck was needed but at the end it was not important as the other guys scored, so I’m happy.”
Gerrard was satisfied with Grezda’s display and backed his summer recruit to improve.
“I thought he grew into the game,” Gerrard said. “His best moments were probably the last five minutes he had.
“He hit the post and had he scored it would have helped him a lot. He’s had a bad injury and a tough time getting back. He will get better.”
Gerrard, who described the decision to send off Candeias as ‘embarrassing’, also condemned pictures apparently showing Morelos being struck by a coin as he celebrated his goal two minutes into second-half stoppage time in front of the home support in the West Stand.
Coming just four days after Neil Lennon was felled by an object hurled from the terraces at Tynecastle, he asked: “Is it going to have to take someone’s eye to come out or someone to be badly hurt from an object for us to make it stop?
“These people shouldn’t be at a football match. You just ban them forever. It’s that simple. Then it will stop.”
St Mirren meanwhile are now on their worst run of results since the 1920s having taken just one point from the last 33.
But boss Oran Kearney insists he will not let his side feel sorry for themselves ahead of next weekend’s bottom-ofthe-table clash with Dundee.
“We’ll come in on Monday, have a look at the footage and then it’s all systems go for Saturday,” he said.
“That’s our job and there’s not one chance in hell of people downing tools.”