Robinson vows his side will respect but play ‘without fear’ against Rangers

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson insists his side will respect but not fear Steven Gerrard’s new-look Rangers.

The Glasgow club took their unbeaten start under Gerrard to ten matches when they beat Russian side Ufa 1-0 in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs at Ibrox on Thursday.

Gerrard’s men have kept six clean sheets ahead of tomorrow’s Ladbrokes Premiership encounter at Fir Park following a major summer overhaul.

But Robinson, right, wants his team to focus on their own game after they kick-started their season with a 1-0 Betfred Cup win over Livingston following two league defeats.

Robinson said: “They’ve started well and look a lot more solid. They don’t look as if they are going to concede too many goals. That said, I’ve seen them in a few games and there are areas I feel we can exploit.

“All the talk will be about Rangers, how they’ve changed and what they are going to do. We have to very much make it about us. We’re at home and have to try to take the game to them.”

Robinson moved to calm tensions yesterday morning by phoning Gerrard to clear the air following skipper Peter Hartley’s ill-judged comments about enjoying watching the injured Fabio Cardoso “weeping” during Motherwell’s cup win over Rangers last season. And while Robinson, stressed they respected Rangers, he wants to make sure his players approach the game with a positive mindset. “I am not sure about showing them no respect,” he said. “I’ve got the utmost respect for every club we play against. So respect yes, but fear factor, no. We’ll try our best to impose ourselves and our game on them. We had a good performance last week, especially for 60-65 minutes, and we aim to take that into the game on Sunday and try to take the game to Rangers.

“It’s not for me to comment on whether they’ve improved or haven’t improved under previous managers. That’s none of my business. Motherwell and winning games is my sole focus and I will concentrate on us without worrying too much about what goes on with anyone else.”