MX23RW : Monday, April 29 23:30:04| >> :60:324:324:
[monks data]
Attendance: 49,863
Rangers logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 21
Dec 29, 2018 at 12.30pm UK
 
Celtic logo

1-0

Jack (30')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Rangers boss Gerrard calls on players to push the pain barrier for Celtic clash

Rangers boss Gerrard calls on players to push the pain barrier for Celtic clash
© Reuters
The Ibrox boss was left frustrated as his injury-hit squad threw away two points to Hibernian.

Steven Gerrard has challenged Rangers' walking wounded to fight through the pain barrier as they prepare to go to battle with Celtic.

The Ibrox boss was left frustrated as his injury-hit squad threw away two points to Hibernian as Darren McGregor's late equaliser snatched a 1-1 draw for Neil Lennon's side.

And there was further pain for Gerrard as he watched centre-back Connor Goldson become the latest addition to the his list of casualty concerns ahead of Saturday's Old Firm crunch as he limped off midway through the second half.

The Light Blues manager is also sweating on the fitness of Scott Arfield, Gareth McAuley and Ryan Kent ahead of the visit of Brendan Rodgers' champions to Ibrox for the second derby clash of the season.

Left-back Borna Barisic has already been ruled out but Gerrard now wants definite answers from the rest of his injury doubts quickly before he start planning for the Hoops.

Asked how Goldson was, he said: "Sore. He's a big doubt. There's a lot of ice flying about the dressing room at the moment.

"I've just said to the players, 'We've got two options here. We can feel sorry for ourselves, mope round and sit in silence – or we can regroup and pull ourselves together for 90 minutes of football coming up'.

"It's a huge game and I need to know in the next 24 hours who's in and who's not.

"There are no definite 'ins' at the moment. Some people trained today and were OK. But there's still more checking to be done on Scott Arfield and Gareth McAuley. I'll know more tomorrow.

"Sometimes you have to dig deep into the reserves and play through it. If the injury doesn't let you do that, tell me. Look me in the eye and say 'I can't do it'. Then we'll go with what we've got.

"Sometimes you have to play through a little bit of pain, especially the magnitude of the game that's coming up.

"We're going to have 50,000 people here roaring us on so I need to know who's on board and who's not. If you're not, fair enough. I understand, I'll respect the decision, but I need to know who's with me and who's not.

"I'm hoping a couple can pull through and we can maybe look a little stronger on paper than we did today."

Alfredo Morelos fired Gers ahead with his 20th goal of the campaign midway through the first half.

But the Ibrox men were unable to build on their lead and let Celtic stretch their advantage at the top of the table to three points when McGregor planted a firm header home from Sean Mackie's cross four minutes from time.

"We've obviously led for the majority of the game and I think we shot ourselves in the foot by not killing the game off," added Gerrard.

The result was a boost for Hibs ahead of their own derby clash with Hearts this weekend and Lennon – who has his own injury worry after Lewis Stevenson was forced off – said: "It would be a confidence booster at any time.

"To come here with Rangers in a title race and take points off them is important.

"They played so well at Easter Road last week and we played really well here today. The level of performance was a lot better."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Andy Newport, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '27cf548b-3c35-420d-bf4e-40882c043f59');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Rangers boss Gerrard calls on players to push the pain barrier for Celtic clash'});

ID:345192: cacheID:345192:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5881:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Sam Cosgrove in action for Aberdeen on December 2, 2018
Read Next:
5 things we learned from the Ladbrokes Premiership this weekend
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic110082275581
2RangersRangers110074245078
3Hearts101046341263
4Kilmarnock10104334952
5St Mirren10013945-643
6Dundee10014556-1141
Relegation Group
1Hibernian11004752-542
2Aberdeen11003649-1338
3Motherwell10014652-637
4St Johnstone10012549-2431
5Ross County10013258-2630
6Livingston11002459-3521
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!