Steven Gerrard reveals why he had to 'get into' Rangers players at half-time

Trailing to a Devante Cole goal at the interval, Rangers salvaged their unbeaten record in this season’s Scottish Premiership when substitute Cedric Itten equalised in the 72nd minute.

They remain a whopping 21 points clear of Celtic at the top of the table and firmly on course to become champions for the first time in a decade.

But there was no disguising the irritation in Gerrard’ voice as he reflected on whether he regarded it as a point earned or two dropped by his team.

“It’s a bit of both, isn’t it?,” he said. “We came to win the game, so from that point of view we have to be slightly disappointed and frustrated.

“But the way the game panned out, to play much better in the second half and take a point, it’s arguably a fair result all in all.

“If you look at possession, chances created and our second half performance, we maybe should have shaded it.

“But we have ourselves to blame for the outcome because we never came to this game until half-time.

“If you look at our first half performance, we were too passive in key areas of the pitch.

“When we managed to string some passes together and get some territory, our quality wasn’t there.

“Our normally reliable players, the front three and coming in from the sides, the quality wasn’t good enough. We never tested the goalkeeper enough in the first half.

“I had to get into the players at half-time. I was going to make a change at half-time but I thought I’d give people a little bit more time.

“But then things weren’t changing as quickly as I would have liked them to, so the game was crying out for a Cedric-type player. He came on and did really well.

"If he keeps providing like that I can’t ignore him for too long. I’m really pleased with his cameo performance today. He looked strong, lively and he was a threat.

“He’s really honest and he’s never passive. In the first half too many of our players were passive so that’s what I was disappointed about.”

READ MORE:

Ten new boys who have impressed in the Irish League so far this season

IRISH LEAGUE FANS' SURVEY: Part One - Manager of the Year and Team Of The Year

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Irish and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you,

Alistair Bushe

Editor