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Rangers will look to make it two Scottish Premiership wins on the bounce and stop Celtic winning the league for at least another week when they travel to Motherwell on Sunday.
The Glasgow giants lie 13 points behind their arch-rivals in the standings with just six fixtures of the campaign remaining, and a defeat for them couple with victory for Neil Lennon’s side would see them crowned champions this weekend.
Gers manager Steven Gerrard spoke to the press ahead of the trip to Fir Park, and these were the two most important things he said.
Frustrated Jermain Defoe
When the veteran striker moved north of the border during the January transfer window he probably would have been expected to be a regular starter, but instead he has often been in and out of the starting XI because of the form of Alfredo Morelos and Gerrard’s preferred formation which only incorporates one centre-forward.
However, the Colombia international’s fifth red card of the campaign has given Defoe a starting opportunity, and his manager said he knows the 36-year-old will have been champing at the bit to play more.
He said: “We’ve got every confidence that Jermain is capable of that [stepping up to the plate in Morelos’ absence]. Knowing him better than most, he’s probably been a bit frustrated with me in terms of game time and minutes.
“He’s come in and done really well, and I’ve every confidence that he’ll build upon last night’s performance.”
His goal against Hearts in midweek certainly showed what he is capable of, and he will want more goals – starting against Motherwell.
Summer changes
The former Liverpool midfielder was also asked about his players, complacency and the work he could look to do the squad during the summer transfer window, and he replied:
“You find out a lot about players when things are going well, when setbacks happen. When individuals maybe drop form or aren’t at their best you learn an awful lot about every single individual.
“Some have thrived on it and been with me all the way, through the good and the bad, and I’ve always had a good feeling that they want to be part of this moving forward.
“Some have fallen short. At the right time, when it’s possible, they’ll be moved on.
“The only thing I can say is we will try and add more quality to make our XI stronger. There won’t be wholesale changes like there was last season.”
While there isn’t as much work needed on the squad as was the case last summer, it is clear to see that Gerrard has already made his decisions on who isn’t good enough and needs to leave.
It will certainly be interesting to see the departures from Ibrox in the coming months, to see who didn’t live up to the 38-year-old’s standards.
