STEVEN GERRARD insists securing second place in the Premiership isn’t good enough for Rangers as he looks for further improvement next term.
The Light Blues ensured they will finish best of the rest behind Celtic this season with a 2-0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox on Sunday.
James Tavernier netted twice from the penalty spot in the second half as Rangers continued their recent upturn in league form.
Gerrard said: “I thought the overall performance was very strong. We defended very well and were not guilty of any stupid mistakes or turnover to gift Aberdeen a lead in the game which we have been guilty of in previous games.
“I was very happy out of possession and in possession I thought we were excellent.
“I was a little bit frustrated at half-time we didn’t have the breakthrough but that was down to Joe Lewis.
“He had two or three world class stops but I had confidence and belief the boys would stay with it.
“Consistency is the word that has come up a lot of times because we have fallen short in the cups and in the league there has been signs of progress.
“I have been very happy with the performances in the last four games.
“People are working hard to keep the shirt and that makes my job easier.
“Second place is not enough. It is progress and I know the club is moving forward in certain areas.
“We are improving and looking stronger but there is still a lot of work and improvement to do.
“We need more quality to help the 11 and we need to continue to improve our discipline and our injury record.
“If we make those three things happen I’m confident we can be more competitive next season.”
Rangers have now won their last four Premiership outings as they followed up two successes over Hearts and a win at Motherwell with a deserved victory at Ibrox.
Boss Gerrard refused to be drawn on a pre-contract move for Aberdeen forward Greg Stewart but did confirm the Light Blues are now on the brink of announcing a deal for Motherwell kid Jake Hastie.
Rangers will end their first campaign under Gerrard’s guidance without any silverware to show for their efforts but the 38-year-old is confident his side are on the right track as they prepare for their final three outings against Hibernian, Celtic and Kilmarnock.
He said: “I think we’re just focusing on what we’re doing here. The last four performances have been very strong and consistent but we want to take that into the Hibs game and we want the same level of performance and finish the season as strong as we can and lay a marker down for where we want to start the season next year.
“But there are a few people in and around my squad who think the season’s done and they’ve come off the gas and it’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen, or if those people want to do that they won’t be anywhere near my team and the team I want to take forward.”
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