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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has never shied away from criticising and providing honest assessments of his own players this season, and the iconic former Liverpool midfielder has indicated that that is not about to change.

What he said

The Gers’ title chances took a blow on Saturday when they slumped to a 0-0 draw with St Johnstone at Ibrox Stadium. Gerrard was clearly frustrated with his side’s performance, and he pulled no punches with his comments to the media in the wake of the result.

As quoted by FourFourTwo, Gerrard said of his team’s display, “I didn’t see a hungry team, I didn’t see a team with the right mentality to go and embrace the challenge that St Johnstone brought.”

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On the topic of the forthrightness of his own post-match comments, the 114-cap former England international continued, “maybe I put it in a more honest and truthful way but I’m not going to change. I don’t want to lie or mislead the players…There has to be times when you tell players certain things. It can hurt in the short term but in the long term you hope it benefits them.”

It’s a bold and refreshing managerial stance to take, and Gerrard will be hoping this approach provokes a reaction from his players in the form of improved future performances.

What he meant

Gerrard is making his position clear to his own players with these comments. His squad will now understand that if their performances are below par, then the manager will acknowledge that fact in front of the fans and media.

This could be considered a risky strategy on the coach’s part, but if he has a good relationship with his squad then his comments should have a positive impact.