Steven Gerrard has taken a cheeky dig at two former Rangers players after clinching the signings of Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis on loan.

The former Liverpool captain has made a major statement by acquiring two experienced campaigners, and believes they will have a far greater impact at Ibrox than Umar Sadiq and Ovie Ejaria, who have both seen their loans cut short.

What's the word?

Striker Sadiq's spell at Rangers was defined by a dive for which he was booked in a Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen, with Gerrard failing to give him a single Scottish top-flight start.

Gerrard promptly axed Sadiq in the January transfer window, while midfielder Ejaria also failed to make the grade.

Ejaria joined the club on loan from Liverpool, but he only scored twice in 28 appearances, and has since joined Reading.

And Gerrard has now waxed lyrical about his side's January dealings, with Defoe and Davis poised to enhance Rangers' chances of beating Celtic to the SPFL title.

What did Gerrard say?

He told reporters: "Rangers sells itself but I tried to say to Jermain about where I was at that stage of my own playing career.

"For me it was about enjoyment. I asked Jermain if a relegation battle was right for him at this stage of his career.

"Was him not being guaranteed games right for him at this stage too? He is well aware of the size of the club, he knows everything about Rangers.

"I showed him how we’re trying to play, how we’re trying to evolve and he was super excited by that. The chance to win some medals, that’s what came out of his mouth."

Gerrard added: "When you think we’ve replaced Umar Sadiq and Ovie Ejaria with these two, I’m very pleased with the business we’ve done."

Shrewd business in SPFL charge

Davis, of course, has history with Rangers, with his latest loan deal his third spell at the club.

After initially joining the club on loan from Fulham in 2008, he spent four years there until 2012, leaving for Southampton.

And Defoe has proven at the highest level that he has the required ability to hit the back of the net on a consistent basis.

The former England international scored 163 goals in the Premier League across 496 appearances, and also enjoyed a prolific spell with Toronto FC.

Rangers' title hopes have no doubt been boosted by this double signing, and it would take a quite astonishing effort from both of them to fail to top the exploits of Sadiq and Ejaria.

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