It’s still up for debate on whether or not Steven Gerrard has been a success at Rangers.

The new Gers gaffer hasn’t been as terrible as some predicted when the Liverpool legend was given the Ibrox hotseat. He’s enjoyed some big wins in the Scottish Premiership and his team have been superb in the Europa League.

But his side have dropped points in five out of twelve Premiership fixtures and were dumped out of the Betfred Cup at the semi-final stage after a lacklustre display against Aberdeen.

Rangers could still end this campaign as legitimate title contenders but if that’s to happen then you’ve got to imagine that Gerrard will need to sort out these three issues:

Find Another Goalscorer 

This one might seem silly, given that The Gers are the league’s top scorers with thirty-two goals. That’s five more nearest rivals Celtic.

Main striker Alfredo Morelos is the top flight’s joint top scorer with seven goals and Kyle Lafferty, Scott Arfield and James Tavernier have produced fourteen strikes between them.

The issues occur when Colombian hitman Morelos is missing. If he’s out through to injury, fatigue or suspension then forward line isn’t as strong. If Lafferty is out during the same period, then Rangers lack a spearhead to lead the line. Loanee Umar Sadiq hasn’t been good enough and proved that in the semi-final loss to The Dons.

During a title run-in fixtures come at you thick and fast, so I believe Gerrard will need to do his upmost to bring in another forward in January. Whether that’s another loanee, they’ve been linked with Liverpool youngster Dominic Solanke in the past, or they bring in a veteran who’ll be happy to sit on the bench for the most part? That will be up to the Light Blues boss.

Put Together An Impressive Winning Run 

Previous Gers managers Mark Warburton and Pedro Caixinha failed when it came to putting together successful lengthly winning runs in the Scottish Premiership. Thus far Steven Gerrard has also struggled to put together the kind of winning run needed to be seen as legitimate title contenders.

The early season away form was mixed to say the least but Rangers have won their last two league away fixtures.

The Light Blues have nine Scottish top tier games to go before the turn of the year and if I were Gerrard I’d be looking to remain undefeated during that run, with the objective of winning the vast majority of those games too.

Win The Big Games

As well as putting together a significant unbeaten run together, Gerrard’s Gers need to win the bigger encounters.

Rangers have failed in their two games against Aberdeen, lost their game against Premiership champions Celtic and also failed to beat Kilmarnock at Ibrox last month.

Since their promotion to the top flight in 2016, Rangers haven’t recorded a single win over Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side. It would give the whole club a huge lift if Steven Gerrard’s men could secure a victory over their bitter rivals on the 29th of December.

If they can’t down the Hoops and continue to drop points in the tougher games then it could prove extremely difficult for Rangers to become title challengers.

If Gerrard can solve these issues, then maybe just maybe they can end their campaign with some silverware!

Posted on November 22nd, 2018 by scott
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