Ryan Jack is a winner... and I want winners around me
GERRARD WELCOMES BACK HIS KEY MIDFIELDER FOR THE TITLE BATTLE
No one wants this more than Ryan. It is a pleasure to work with him
WHEN Steven Gerrard first arrived at Rangers, Ryan Jack wasted no time in making a favourable first impression on one of the finest midfielders in football history.
After just his second home game in charge at Ibrox, a Europa League qualifier against Osijek in August 2018, the former Liverpool and England captain declared he was ‘jealous’ of Jack’s ‘stunning’ performance in the team’s engine room against the Croatians.
In the weeks, months and matches that have followed, that initial envy has crystallised into deep respect for a player Gerrard believes is a true winner and a natural leader.
Now over the calf injury that ended his match at Tynecastle on January 26, the return of the Scotland international is exactly what Rangers need tonight as they head for Rugby Park — a perilous venue that has put a spoke or two in their wheels over the past two years.
Gerrard certainly hopes Jack’s presence will lift standards among his title-chasing team-mates.
‘If you could sum Ryan Jack up in one word, he is a winner — and I want winners around me closely,’ said the Rangers boss.
‘It doesn’t matter if it’s five-asides or an 11-a-side game at Celtic Park, he wants to win. No one wants this more than Ryan Jack. It’s a pleasure to work with him. If you practise and rehearse every single day how you want to play in matches then, more often than not, it comes out.
‘I love seeing that in a player. I think it’s been clear from the get-go, from the very first conversation I had with him man-to-man, that he was so keen to let us know that he was on the journey with us.
‘The way he lives his life, the way he works in training and the relationship I have with him, it’s very clear that Ryan is someone you want with you.
‘I’ve got every trust in him but so do the guys around about him.
‘Not only does he have the best personal standards, he has that leadership where he pushes others and makes demands of them. I think he lifts other players naturally and he does it in the right way. He has helped us take standards to where we want them to be because of his own personal drive.
‘It’s not been helpful having him unavailable for the last couple of weeks. We always have a better chance of being more consistent with Jacko available.
‘I will make the decision whether that’s from the beginning or coming into it. We’ll wait and see.’
Rangers have won just once on their last four visits to Killie. To do so, they required a stoppagetime winner from Connor
Goldson back in August. It is now just over a year since the Ibrox side returned full of hope after the winter break only to lose 2-1 at Rugby Park — with Rangersbound Jordan Jones scoring the winning goal.
Gerrard’s men recently lost 2-1 at Hearts and drew 0-0 at home to Aberdeen to fall seven points behind Celtic with a game in hand. The Ibrox boss does not accept that a pattern is emerging but expects another difficult evening in Ayrshire tonight.
‘It could possibly be redemption for us at Rugby Park,’ said Gerrard. ‘It’s a big challenge for us because we’ve always had tough games there. People will obviously compare the return from the winter break from last season to this year because we suffered a sore one at Hearts.
‘But, for me, it’s very much a game in isolation and trying to make sure that the best players are available to go down there. Then, they’ve got to turn up and perform.
‘If we do that, I’m confident we can get the same result we got earlier in the season.’
Meanwhile, Ryan Kent insists he does not feel any added pressure attached to his £7million summer price tag as he set his sights on scoring double figures.
The former Liverpool winger has already matched his six goals for last season but there is a sense he has not quite hit the heights he achieved while on loan from the Anfield side the previous campaign.
Kent is five short of his assists total of nine from last season but provided the vital spark in Saturday’s 4-1 Scottish Cup win at Hamilton with a driving run down the left before crossing for Joe Aribo to make it 2-1.
The 23-year-old knows more moments of magic like that in the final third will be needed this evening to break down the notoriously stuffy Kilmarnock.
Kent said: ‘There is expectation on every player in this team — regardless of your price tag. I think every time you step out on that pitch representing Rangers, you are expected to deliver. So it’s just the same this season as it was last season for me.
‘But I’ve scored the same at this point as I did in the whole of last season. If I can come away with double figures, I’ll be happy with that, as long as I’m putting in the best performances possible.
‘I’m not satisfied yet, though. I think, in the last two performances, we have got back to where we left off before the winter break. It’s important we build on those performances now.
‘Kilmarnock is always a difficult place to go and we have had many tough games there. But if everyone turns up in the right mood and puts in the right performance then, hopefully, we can come away with a win.’