THE DEFIANT ONE
Gerrard: I’ll fight Celtic for this title until the end
STEVEN GERRARD has defiantly insisted he will never concede a title while wearing the Rangers badge.
The Ibrox manager struck a bullish tone as he spoke of his determination to end a winter form slump and bring long-awaited success back to the club.
Gerrard is acutely aware of increased scrutiny he faces after a grim midweek defeat at Kilmarnock left Rangers ten points adrift of Celtic, albeit with a game in hand.
That margin has led some to claim the league race is over, but the 39-year-old is adamant neither he nor his players will be throwing in the towel.
‘If I concede something while this badge is on my chest, I will take it off and I will walk out and get in my car,’ said Gerrard. ‘It is as simple as that.
‘Under my watch, no one will be giving anything up or conceding anything. We will continue to fight.
‘We played ourselves into a fantastic position in the first half of the season
but, over the last three weeks, we’ve played ourselves into some complications. ‘But I have belief I have the right people with me to improve that and get back involved.’ Today’s home meeting with Livingston gives Rangers a chance to reduce the gap to seven points before Celtic play at Aberdeen tomorrow. Neil Lennon’s champions have been in relentless form since the winter break, winning all six of their fixtures, while their Ibrox rivals have dropped eight points. Asked if his hunger to succeed had been in any way diminished by the recent woes, Gerrard replied: ‘Not at all. Setbacks as a player always gave me an opportunity to react, improve and prove people wrong. ‘I expect my players to do the same. As a manager, it makes me even more determined. ‘My job is to make sure this team gets the fans back smiling and happy again. We did that for six months, but in this game you don’t get rewards for that — unless you win a League Cup, which we were extremely close to doing. ‘We made them happy by bringing back European football after Christmas but the form domestically in the league has let them down. ‘There is no way to dress that up. It’s the reality. ‘Our performances haven’t been where they were and we have lost a bit of rhythm. ‘The message to the fans is: I’m on it and I’m going to do everything I can to make them smiling and happy again.’ Gerrard was sharply critical of his players after the Rugby Park collapse, which saw Rangers lose despite being 1-0 up with 14 minutes to play. ‘At the time, I felt like we’d really let ourselves down and I took responsibility for the group’s performance on the night,’ he added. ‘So I have no regrets for what I said on the night.’ The Ibrox manager reported no changes to his squad, meaning Borna Barisic (left) is again set to miss out against Livingston.