Egos have cost us says Rangers boss Steven Gerrard

The Ibrox boss did not hold back with his criticism in the wake of Saturday’s sorry stalemate with Tommy Wright’s team as he told the Light Blues to forget about a title push after handing Celtic the chance to open up an eight-point lead.

In another forthright assessment of Gers’ weekend woes, Gerrard claimed his players’ failure to take Saints’ threat seriously was the root of their problems.

It is not the first time the former Liverpool skipper has let rip at his squad and some have questioned the wisdom of that tactic.

But Gerrard is adamant honesty is the best policy as he seeks an improved display against Kilmarnock in Wednesday night’s William Hill Scottish Cup replay.

“I think St Johnstone wasn’t just a problem in the 90 minutes. Having looked back at the week leading into it, there were certain things that didn’t look right.

“I didn’t see a hungry team, I didn’t see a team with the right mentality to go and embrace the challenge that St Johnstone brought.

“We went in with a bit of ego and just thought we could turn up. We got found out. It is a concern.”

“I don’t think it (my post-match comments) were brutal. It was honest. Probably 99 out of 100 managers would tell them the same thing if they saw what I saw on Saturday. Maybe I put it in a more honest and truthful way but I’m not going to change. I don’t want to lie or mislead the players.”