Steven Gerrard’s focus on Rangers finish line

The Ibrox boss – who this week clocks up his 1,000th day in the job – and his “unstoppable” team need just seven more points to clinch heir first league crown in a decade.

They also stand on the precipice of matching last year’s run to the last 16 of the Europa League.

But Gerrard is fully aware now is not the time to stand still and admire what has been achieved so far.

Now he has ordered his rampant Rangers to make sure it is job done as they look to put the seal on a remarkable campaign.

Speaking ahead of Thursday night’s second leg with Royal Antwerp, who Gers lead 4-3 after last week’s Flanders thriller, he said: “It’s not about me is the truth. It’s about the supporters, the club, the players.

“I totally respect the position I’m sitting in right now.

“We’re on the verge of turning Europe into a successful season again by matching last season’s efforts of reaching the last 16. But we’ve still got a big job to do tomorrow night.

“If we can do that it will be a real positive in terms of our journey. That will give us the determination to go one step further than last year from a European point of view.

“We’re obviously on the verge in terms of the league campaign, which I’m extremely proud of.

“But my attitude and focus won’t change until we go get it done. There’s still work to do. There’s still hurdles to get over and tough games on the horizon.

“But we’re extremely determined to take the opportunities that we’ve got here right now.

“And that opportunity is to make Europe a success and to do the same in the league.

“It’s a fantastic position to be in but we’ve got to go grab it now and really capitalise on the position we’re in.”

In Gerrard’s first two campaigns in charge, Rangers had already seen their league challenge implode.

But this term they are the side going from strength to strength as Celtic begin the search for a new boss after Neil Lennon’s departure amid the ominous realisation that their bitter rivals could celebrate their title win at Parkhead on March 21.

Gerrard added: “I think it’s been a real combination of things but I think they key thing has been a real determination to become more consistent.

“Our results have proved that. We’ve been unstoppable up until this point.

“Obviously St Mirren have been the only team that have been able to do that but we weren’t ourselves on that night.

“Credit to St Mirren but we came off what we’ve been for the majority of this season, which is a real hungry team that has managed to find that consistency to get results.”

Rangers showed that hunger to fight for victory in Belgium that week and Gerrard insists there will be no change in tact for the Ibrox return just because they hold a first-leg lead.

“The scoreline sits as it is with the advantage we’ve got,” he said. “But we certainly won’t be going in with that kind of mentality.

“We see this as a fresh game.

“We certainly want to improve from a defensive point of view. We want to be a lot tighter and difficult to play against.

“But we still want to carry a threat and score as many goals as we can.

“We’re at home and we’re not going to sit and wait and protect.

“We’re going to treat this game in isolation and be really aggressive and bold in how we play.

“This is our home and we want to show everyone how difficult it is to play against this team when they come to Ibrox.”

Meanwhile, Gerrard has been boosted by news that Ryan Jack is only likely to miss a couple of weeks after suffering a recurrence of his calf problems at the weekend.

--

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.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world.

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

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.

Thank you