Steven Gerrard has admitted that there is a sense of frustration following their 2-0 win against Progres Niederkorn on Thursday night.
The Light Blues managed to give themselves a two-goal advantage by goals from Joe Aribo and Sheyi Ojo ahead of their trip to Luxembourg ahead of the return leg.
However, the manager felt his team still has plenty left to do and lamented certain aspects of their game, including their inability to finish in the final third of the pitch.
Speaking to RangersTV (via the club’s official website), he said: “It was okay – it’s a clean sheet and it’s two goals, but I am slightly frustrated we never went out and got more. We had big chances at big moments – obviously Tav’s penalty can go and virtually kill the tie, and Scotty has had a real, good chance. We have created enough on the night, and you can see there was a gulf between both teams on the night.
“But we probably haven’t got the rewards our performance deserved. We lost our shape and discipline chasing the third goal, and Allan [McGregor] has had to bail us out once or twice. So there are a couple of things we need to work on. We need to have a better shape behind the ball when we are chasing more goals, and we have to be a bit more clinical to put these teams away.
“I really wanted to try and kill the tie tonight. In terms of effort and commitment, the players have given me a lot tonight, but they just haven’t rewarded themselves with a lot of good play. I expected, with the players we had on from the beginning, and with the subs, us to create a lot. But, against Blackburn we never took our chances and we paid for it, and playing against better opposition moving forward we might pay for it.
“It is okay at the moment, but there is still a lot of work to do to go and kill this off.”
Although a two-goal lead should be comfortable enough for Rangers to defend and progress to the next stage of the Europa League (where they would face FC Midtjylland), Gerrard is right to have wanted to kill the tie off in the first leg.
The Light Blues had a number of opportunities to do so, with Alfredo Morelos, Ojo, James Tavernier and Ryan Jack all having the chance to give them a bigger lead, as detailed in the Scottish Sun’s player ratings following the final whistle.
The manager is not a stranger to having high expectations of his players though and has always demanded that they give their best when performing, something that has been evident throughout his playing days.
Peter Crouch revealed on That Peter Crouch Podcast (via Liverpool Echo) that Gerrard was ‘ruthless’ in training whilst at Liverpool and stated that his standards were so high.
“Gerrard and Carragher were ruthless. Gerrard’s standards are so high. He would wrap a pass into you with so much venom and expect you to control it. He would wrap it into me and then come at me, basically, and I’d either lay it off for him first time or take a touch and lay it off for him again,” he said.
Games are starting to come thick and fast for Gerrard’s side, with just one more pre-season friendly coming up against Derby County before every single match counts for something going forward, so there would have been an element of disappointment that the game was not killed off in the first 90 minutes.
If Rangers had managed to come away with a scoreline with a bigger margin than the two-goal advantage they already have, then the Light Blues, arguably, would not have had to put in as much intensity, exert as much effort and could have potentially used other players in the game just as the Scottish Premiership campaign looms.
However, they will now need to go to Luxembourg and make sure they are not complacent to ensure Progres do not cause the club the same embarrassment that they inflicted on them back in 2017 (BBC).
Rangers fans, do you agree with Gerrard’s disappointment and frustrations? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them in the comments section below!
