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Close eye: Steven Davis from Rangers and Koji Miyoshi from Antwerp fight for the ball in the first leg
Andy Newport
Steven Gerrard knows that Rangers are almost within reach of success at home and abroad, but he insists there will be no slacking off until they get a firm grip on it.
The Ibrox boss, who worked his 1000th day yesterday, and his « unstoppable » team only need seven points to get their first league crown in a decade.
They are also on Abyss of last year’s run to the last 16 of the Europa League.
But Gerrard is fully aware that now is not the time to stand still and admire what has been achieved so far.
Now he has his Ordered rampant rangers to make sure the job is done as they try to seal a remarkable campaign.
Ahead of today’s return leg with Royal Antwerp, which Gers led 4-3 after last week’s Flanders thriller, he said: « It’s not about me, it’s about the fans, the club, the players.
» We are on the verge of making Europe a successful season again by repeating the efforts of last season, the last 16 to reach, meet, but we have another big one tomorrow night n job to get done. «
» If we can do this it will be really positive for our trip. That will give us the determination to go one step further from a European point of view than last year.
« We are obviously close to the league campaign that I’m very proud of.
» But my attitude and mine Focus won’t change until we do it. Its a lot to do. There are still hurdles to overcome and tough games on the horizon.
« And this opportunity is to make Europe a success and do the same in the league.
» It’s a fantastic position to be in we’re in, but we have to grab them now and really take advantage of the position we are in. «
But in this term they are the side that keeps getting stronger as Celtic after Neil Lennon left with The search for a new boss begins amid the ominous realization that their bitter rivals could celebrate their title win in Parkhead on March 21st.
Gerrard attributes his side’s transformation to improved recruiting and the work of his backroom team .
He added, « I think it was a real combination of things, but I think the key was a real determination to be more consistent.
» Of course St. Mirren was the only team that did it, but we were in this one Night not ourselves.
« Thank you St. Mirren, but we’ve achieved what we are for most of this season. This is a really hungry team that managed to find that consistency to get results. «
The Rangers showed in Belgium last week that they are hungry to fight for victory and Gerrard passes insist that the tactics for Ibrox return will not change just because they take the lead in the first leg.
« The goal line looks the way it is, with the advantage we have, » he said . « But we certainly won’t go on with that kind of mentality. We see this as a new game.
« We definitely want to improve defensively. We want to be a lot closer and more difficult to play. But we still want to face a threat and score as many goals as possible. «
» We’re going to treat this game in isolation and be very aggressive and brave the way we play.
« This is our home and we want to show everyone how difficult it is to play against this team when they come to Ibrox. «
Meanwhile, Gerrard has been strengthened by the news that Ryan Jack will likely be absent only a few weeks after suffering from his calf problems again last weekend.
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