STEVEN Gerrard says his players have to prove they can win things before they can be considered on a par with some of the superstars across the city.
Kieran Tierney moved from Celtic to Arsenal for £25m this summer, with Callum McGregor subject to a £20m deadline day interest to play under his old manager Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City. While the Rangers manager is desperate to keep hold of all his best players, he feels that they will only come to the attention of Europe’s biggest teams when they have proven they can pick up silverware.
“To be respectful, the Celtic players mentioned [McGregor, Edouard] have won things and have Champions League experience,” said Gerrard. “We as a group need to continue to push and improve and hopefully in the near future, we get the chance to win and then people’s opinions of them will change. But in terms of my confidence and belief in them I know what they’re worth and at the moment they’re priceless because I need all my best players to stay.”
As respectful as he was to the Ladbrokes Premiership champions, Gerrard is well aware of the opportunities which could be presented by an unfamiliar Celtic backline. Neil Lennon is sweating on the likes of Kris Ajer, Jozo Simunovic and Hatem Elhamed, with the likes of Moritz Bauer, Christopher Jullien and Boli Bolingoli having only just arrived at the club. Gerrard admitted that bringing Jordan Jones into his starting line-up is “in his thinking”.
“It can work both ways. Some debutants can come in and have no fear and just take to it. On the other hand, the Old Firm match is different from the rest. The atmosphere is different and I’m sure they’ll have experienced a different build up so that has to come into our thinking.
“It’s difficult to predict the line-up. We’ll need to see what Neil puts in front of us. But we watch opposition, we do our analysis and due diligence and try to find strengths and weaknesses and how they play. Then we try to put a plan together to exploit their weaknesses and cope with their strengths but that’s very difficult because they have excellent players. But so have we. Both sides have been on good form and something’s got to give, that’s what makes it so intriguing.”
Gerrard meanwhile has hinted that he could be prepared to extend his current contract at the club should owner Dave King raise the issue. The Englishman, who has a contract which runs until the summer of 2022, has proven to be an excellent appointment thus far. “I’m happy - I don’t want to be anywhere else right now,” he said. “[Extending] is not something I’ve thought about. I’ve got just shy of three years left. They are not my decisions or my calls. Dave King is my boss and every time he comes to talk to me of course I will listen.”
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