Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who became the manager of Rangers feels the team needs a lot of work to do.
Gerrard’s men won 6-0 in a friendly against Bury on Friday.
A year after being humbled by Luxembourg part-timers Progres Niederkorn, Rangers advanced to the second round of the Europa League qualifiers. But Gerrard concedes his new side are way short of where they need to be.
The Scottish club’s defeat at the same stage of the competition last year is regarded by many as the worst in their 146-year history. And while avoiding a similar fate at the hands of the Macedonians was the priority, Gerrard said they must improve.
Rangers carried a 2-0 first-leg lead into the return match in Skopje on Tuesday. Gerrard told RangersTV,
“I am pleased with the one side of the game. But there is certainly a hell of a lot of work to do on the other.”
The 38-year old former Liverpool great singled out new centre-backs Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic. Also the returning goalkeeper Allan McGregor, for praise after the match at the Philip II Arena.
“I set the players a challenge before the game — a clean sheet and we are through. I think there is still a little bit of a mental block going on, especially with what happened 12 months ago.”
Gerrard had brought in nine players, as he looks to end the dominance of Glasgow rivals Celtic. They have won the league for seven straight years and completed an unprecedented “double-treble” last season.
Rangers have won a record 54 league titles but are struggling to recover from the financial problems. It saw them reformed in the bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012. They open their Scottish Premiership campaign at Aberdeen on 5th August.