Steven Gerrard urges Rangers to buy and Gareth McAuley backs pursuit of Steven Davies
A brief moment for celebration or regret is all that can be afforded by Celtic and Rangers respectively as they put their European endeavours behind them and turn once more to the domestic campaign. Rangers’ focus has now narrowed to the title chase and the Scottish Cup after a disappointing start to December.
Prospects looked bright for Steven Gerrard and his players when they emerged from Tynecastle with a 2-1 win over Hearts on Dec 2, but that was followed by a home defeat by Aberdeen, a 1-1 draw at Dens Park which took Dundee off the foot of the table for the first time since September 1 and Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League loss to Rapid in Vienna.
The game in Austria was Rangers’ season in miniature. For much of the proceedings they were the better team but their efforts were ultimately sabotaged by carelessness in possession and too great a reliance on Alfredo Morelos as spearhead.
Rangers have made distinct progress under Gerrard, having banished memories of last year’s humiliation by Progres Niederkorn of Luxemburg in their first European outing in six years. This time around, Gerrard fulfilled his brief of getting the team to the group stages and achieving a total of 14 games with only two defeats, although these – especially the 4-3 loss to Spartak in Moscow – proved decisive.
Having earned praise at the club’s annual general meeting from the Rangers chairman, Dave King, for a better showing on the field of play, Gerrard now seeks a further and tangible response from the board to strengthen his squad. “If you analyse the journey as a whole, the players have done fantastically well, but the reality is, at this level, we’ve fallen a little bit short and that is my job to try and address that,” he said.
One man on Rangers’ radar is Steven Davis, a former Ibrox captain who acquired three league winners’ medals under Walter Smith. The Northern Irish midfielder has been a fringe figure at Southampton and his fellow countryman and Rangers defender, Gareth McAuley, believes that Davis would yield a dividend if brought back to Glasgow.
“I did a piece the other week on my best XI and he was in there,” McAuley said. “Could he provide the creativity we need? Possibly, possibly. As players we all need to do a bit more to create and opens teams up.
“I know he's frustrated that he's not playing football and, if the opportunity is there for him, then I'm sure he'd love to come back. It's an amazing club. I can't think of anywhere better to play.”
Rangers are at home to Hamilton on Sunday, without Morelos who is serving the second instalment of a two-match ban. Accies were demolished 4-1 in Lanarkshire last time the teams met, but they won at Ibrox a year ago, a success which offers the Hamilton captain, Doug Imrie, a more encouraging example for his colleagues.
“We kept it 0-0 to half-time, came out in the second half and got a goal after six minutes and straight away the fans were on top of them because they are expecting to win and then we got them on a counter-attack and won the game 2-0,” Imrie said.
“You have to ride your luck in those games as well. They had some unbelievable chances that they didn’t take. When they are not on fire, you have to take your chances when they come along.”
In contrast to their Ranger counterparts, Celtic fans should be chanting the name of Tore Reginiussen, whose 86th minute equaliser in Leipzig guaranteed that the Scottish champions would reach the knockout stage of the Europa League, despite their defeat at home to Red Bull Salzburg thanks to the Norwegian centre-back’s contribution.
After 15 Champions League and Europa League group stage campaigns, it is the first time that Celtic have eliminated a team from one of the Big Five countries – England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. On Sunday they face Neil Lennon’s Hibernian at Easter Road.
Brendan Rodgers has become accustomed to the Thursday/Sunday routine imposed by the Europa League schedule. “You know what it is like playing a European game and what you face on the Sunday but we will be very focused and go there expecting a tough game,” the Celtic manager said.
Celtic will be without Leigh Griffiths because the striker is undergoing therapy for mental health issues, including a gambling problem. Lennon, who has been candid about his own struggles with depression and who has offered Griffiths his support, said: “You lose control of your emotions and you lose control of your mind to a certain point.
“Not being psychotic or anything like that, but the mind plays tricks on you and makes you think very, very differently from what you would when you are feeling normal. In a few weeks’ time he will be on the mend, there’s no question of that, if he does the right things, but it’s a difficult period for him.
“He may need a bit of privacy but he will need a lot of support as well, particularly from his family.”
Back on the field of play, a quietly singular event will occur today if Kilmarnock beat Dundee at Rugby Park. In such a circumstance, Killie would be back at the top of the Scottish Premiership, despite last week’s 5-1 drubbing by Celtic. Back in August, who would have predicted that as a Christmas novelty?
