We’re ready for Europe, says Gerrard

STEVEN GERRARD has declared Rangers ready for their Europa League campaign after his tenure kicked off with a 6-0 win over Bury last night. The Ibrox boss — who confirmed James Tavernier will retain the captain’s armband — was pleased with his side’s display against English League Two opposition in front of a 41,105 crowd. Gerrard now faces his competitive debut in Thursday’s Europa League

first qualifying round first leg against FK Shkupi of Macedonia. And, while insisting he has plentiful work to do to shape his Rangers vision, he believes his charges can handle the pressure of avoiding a repeat of last season’s Progres Niederkorn debacle. ‘We are ready for the challenge,’ said Gerrard. ‘The expectation and pressure is going to be completely different from tonight. ‘Yeah, there were 40,000 here, so there was a slight bit of pressure, especially for new players getting judged for the first time. ‘After what happened last year, then of course we know there is going to be a lot more pressure and eyes on us next Thursday. ‘But I’m confident that come kickoff the players will be ready to go.’ Six of his seven summer signings — Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Jon Flanagan, Scott Arfield and Jamie Murphy — all featured from the start. Arfield marked his debut with two goals, while Katic, Murphy, Alfredo Morelos and youngster Zak Rudden were also on target. For Gerrard, the friendly rout was a first step towards making Ibrox an uncomfortable place for any opponent. ‘It was exactly what we were looking for — a good, strong, positive win full of energy. ‘We asked for desire and commitment and we saw lots of that. ‘The most pleasing thing for me was the clean sheet. ‘We’ve spoken to the team over the last 16, 17 days about how important it is to be a difficult team to play against. ‘Teams who come into this stadium need to start feeling us, they need to start feeling Rangers again and what Rangers are about. ‘I saw a lot of positives in our play, out of possession, and of course with the scoreline there was a lot of quality as well.’ Gerrard can still register one more player for the Euro tie up until 24 hours before the first leg, with Rangers awaiting work permit clearance to confirm a loan deal for AS Roma striker Umar Sadiq. ‘There is nothing fresh at the moment,’ he said. ‘He is still a Roma player. It’s been well documented I’m a fan of the player. It’s just a case of “watch this space”.’ Tavernier wore the skipper’s armband, with Gerrard replying: ‘Yes’ when asked if the right-back would be his captain. He was, however, unwilling to confirm McGregor would be his No 1 goalkeeper. It’s understood Rangers are willing to listen to offers for Wes Foderingham, who was first-choice at the club last season. ‘I don’t have a number one, two or three,’ said Gerrard. ‘I have three excellent goalkeepers with decent experience. ‘Allan obviously has the most. ‘At some point, one of them won’t be around because three top goalies don’t go into one position. ‘Unfortunately I’m going to have to make a difficult decision.’