Is Steven Gerrard under pressure?
Rangers’ defeat to Kilmarnock felt scripted for all the wrong reasons. In two seasons, Rangers have been beaten three times at Rugby Park. All three of those defeats saw Kilmarnock overturn a one goal deficit to win 2-1 – just like last night.
The result was reminiscent of the defeat away at Hearts last month and the 2-2 draw at Pittodrie earlier in the season. In all those games Rangers threw away a lead, and in all those games Gerrard questioned his team’s mentality after the match.
Speaking after the Aberdeen game he said, “we couldn’t handle the pressure”. And after the Hearts defeat he lamented he “didn’t recognise his team”.
But at what point does Gerrard’s refusal to make changes outweigh his team’s mentality as the main cause of these results?
As referenced, last night’s match felt scripted. At 50 minutes, Rangers started to lose control of the game, by 70 minutes half of the Rangers side looked like they were playing in mud. But, Gerrard didn’t make a change until it was 1-1, at 81 minutes.
Similarly against Hearts there was a refusal to change anything until it was far too late. Evidently there is mentality issues, but obviously Gerrard’s game management needs to be better. Steven Davis could have come on to control the game last night, Jordan Jones against his former team would have surely offered a threat on the counter. A third centre back may have invited on pressure, but undoubtedly would have helped the shambolic defending that led to Kilmarnock’s two goals.
Steven Gerrard has overall done what I would regard to be an excellent job at Ibrox. For context, before his arrival, Rangers had been knocked out of the Europa League by minnows Progres Niederkorn – in the first round of Europa League qualifying. Next week they will face Braga in the last 32 of the competition, having progressed through their group which featured FC Porto, Feyenoord and BSC Young Boys.
To go from losing to Progres to beating Porto and Feyenoord at home and securing impressive draws away is no mean feat. Technically Rangers outplayed Porto twice, and out-battled a high pressing dynamic Feyenoord team.
Beating Celtic at Parkhead in December marked another landmark moment for Steven Gerrard at Rangers, just as two home victories over them last season had been. Again, the season before his arrival Rangers had lost countless times to Celtic. To make up that ground technically and psychologically is a mark of a well run football team. Again, no mean feat and an accomplishment within itself.
But last night’s low seemed to almost equate to those aforementioned highs. And a title that looked achievable in December will now only be secured via a miracle. Gerrard will need to rally his troops to ensure results like last night don’t happen again.
