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Steven Gerrard insists his Rangers revolution is a
survival of the fittest world where the weak are left behind.
The Light Blues boss believes his training demands, being able to live with the intensity levels and competition for venues has finally leaked passengers into Ibrox’s squad.
After two trophy-free seasons since arriving from Liverpool’s coaching staff, the Englishman has led his team to the top of the Premiership and the final 32 of the Europa League with Thursday night’s win over Standard Liege.
That result extended an unbeaten streak to 24 games before Sunday’s lunchtime clash with Ross County in the Highlands, which could take them 14 points clear at the top before Celtic host St Johnstone hours later.
An inconsistency in performance and collapse of form after last Christmas caused critics to queue up to attack Gerrard, but he is convinced that this season’s culture ensures that any player who doesn’t fit into the show, doesn’t the cut will pass.
He said: “There are players who have been on the full path who are really comfortable with what is expected of them.
“Some people have not been able to cope with that and we have had to move them in different directions. We have tried to recruit people, the best we can, that we know can handle it.
“I think adding better players as we move forward has certainly helped us get to where we are today.
“We still have more to do to get where we want to go. We try to establish that culture from day one. We haven’t changed it since we did.
“We have set standards in terms of how we expect the training to look, in terms of intensity.
“I think players react at different times to what you want.”
Gerrard chose to sidestep a match-scheduling controversy that saw the SPFL sanction Celtic’s request to move a festive clash with Hibs and also refused to get into the problem of television scheduling that sees his team play the game. lunchtime due to their European efforts.
He said, “It’s none of my business, to be honest. We just have to deal with the games and times that come our way and move on. I don’t think there is anything to be gained by having an opinion in this situation.
“You just create unnecessary headlines. I said my article at the beginning of the new season in terms of what my feelings were. I don’t think I have to go down that path again.
“We have the starting matches at 12pm, we have had them before and we have handled them reasonably well and we will try to do the same with the next games.
“I think the most important thing in terms of the calendar is to get them back. Try to keep them healthy.
“There are different challenges at the moment. In addition to injuries and fatigue, you have the Covid situation, so there are many things you need to protect yourself from. It’s largely about trying to keep the ball going. We are in a good place, confidence is high ”.
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