Gerrard questions Rangers mentality as Celtic go 10 clear
Steven Gerrard has questioned whether his Rangers side have the mentality to win the Ladbrokes Premiership after they slipped up again.
The Ibrox outfit started the year looking to use December’s Celtic Park victory as a springboard to a run at the championship, but once again, things have gone badly wrong at the start of the new year.
Barely six weeks later it appears all hope is gone after a 2-1 defeat to Kilmarnock saw the Light Blues slip 10 points behind their bitter rivals.
Gers still have a game in hand and two Old Firm derbies to turn the situation around but Gerrard confessed his team have failed to handle the pressure to halt the Hoops reign of dominance.
REACTION: Steven Gerrard spoke to RangersTV after tonight's match against Kilmarnock. pic.twitter.com/JIMRu4Rzwn
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) February 12, 2020
Rangers grabbed a first-half lead through a Scott Arfield rocket but, just like last season when the wheels came off at Rugby Park after the winter break, they surrendered the points with a shambolic second-half display as goals from Stephen O’Donnell and Eamonn Brophy sealed Killie’s win.
“In the second half, we never handled the heat or the pressure,” admitted Gerrard. “We never played like a team that was trying to fight to remain in a title race, a team that was trying to come away from here with three points.”
Gerrard admits that his side have not been good enough since the winter break and says that is partly his fault as well, as he is the one who has assembled the current Gers squad.
The former Liverpool ace also admitted his team would face questions over their bottle after losing to Hearts last month and his view has not changed.
He said: “On the evidence of the second half, yes. We came here tonight and it was a pressure game in a stadium where you know you are going to be under the cosh or under the heat. The reality is that we couldn’t cope tonight.”
