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Steven Gerrard relishing his budding relationship with Rangers star Ryan Kent

Steven Gerrard relishing his budding relationship with Rangers star Ryan Kent
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The on-loan Liverpool winger has emerged as a key player at Ibrox.

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard admits working with Ryan Kent is a labour of love.

The on-loan Liverpool winger has emerged as a key man for Rangers in recent weeks, while his electric burst of pace and turn past Mikael Lustig unlocked the Celtic defence in the build-up to Ryan Jack's Old Firm winner at the end of 2018.

And he proved just as instrumental for Rangers against Aberdeen on Wednesday night as he had a major hand in both Alfredo Morelos goals as Gerrard's men claimed a 4-2 win at Pittodrie.

Ibrox director of football Mark Allen revealed last month that Rangers were hoping to open talks with Liverpool about extending Kent's stay in Glasgow into next season.

And Gerrard is desperate to see his budding relationship with the 22-year-old, who endured two frustrating loan stints with Freiburg and Bristol City last term, continue.

He said: "I have been delighted with his contribution since he walked through the door. On the back of two tough loans he has come here and taken the league by storm so far.

"The challenge for Ryan was, 'can he produce against the top teams in the league?' Well he's now produced against Aberdeen and did against Celtic and is finding consistency in his game.

"He's happy, he's enjoying it and I'm loving working with him."

Rangers finally toppled Derek McInnes' Dons at the fourth attempt this season and they will now look to avenge last month's Kilmarnock defeat when they head to Rugby Park for Saturday's William Hill Scottish Cup last-16 clash.

Morelos will sit out the meeting with Steve Clarke's side after seeing red against the Dons for the third time in as many games this term – and his fourth in total – but Gerrard wants the rest of his players to show the same hunger that has seen them bounce back from their Killie setback with four straight wins.

Speaking to RangersTV, he added: "We have to decide on a team and a formation for the weekend at Kilmarnock. We have had a tough night here tonight so we need to recover well and try to get people fit and available for the game.

"We want to try and get to the next round of the cup and then, of course, since Kilmarnock in the league, I have seen the reaction I have wanted to see – but we can't stop here.

"Aberdeen are not going to go away, Kilmarnock are not going to go away, Hearts are finding form, so we need to keep pushing. We need to try and go on a run of form now and keep winning games."

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Alfredo Morelos in action for Rangers on December 29, 2018
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic220085275884
2RangersRangers220078255381
3Hearts20114637963
4Kilmarnock20114438652
5St Mirren21014246-446
6Dundee20024659-1341
Relegation Group
1Hibernian21014854-642
2Aberdeen22003749-1241
3Motherwell21015053-340
4Ross County21013459-2533
5St Johnstone20022550-2531
RLivingston21012563-3821
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
RLivingston3339212259-3718


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