Rangers manager Steven Gerrard to consider his future over next '24 to 48 hours'

Ibrox boss says it's the worst he's felt since taking the job
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard took defeat at Tynecastle hard. Picture: SNSRangers manager Steven Gerrard took defeat at Tynecastle hard. Picture: SNS
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard took defeat at Tynecastle hard. Picture: SNS

A dejected Steven Gerrard said he will spend the next 48 hours considering his future after his Rangers team were ousted from the Scottish Cup, losing their most realistic hope of claiming silverware this season in the process.

“It’s the worst I’ve felt by a long way since I came into the job,” said the Ibrox manager after his side suffered a second successive defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle, losing 1-0 to an Olly Bozanic goal.

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“I need to think. The plan was to have a day off tomorrow [Sunday] but I need to think hard about where we are at as a group. I need to do some real serious thinking in the next 24-48 hours.”

Asked if that included his own future at the club, he said: “I just need to think, I am feeling pain right now because I want to win here. I am desperate to win here, but looking from the side today I didn’t get the impression that the feeling among my players was the same.

“Me and my staff have given these players absolutely everything for 20 months and held their hand on and off the pitch and improved everything but it is tough when with every other performance you feel the way I feel. It’s tough. I need to analyse myself for sure but this is the toughest moment I have had since I came in.

“Forget the title for now. This was a quarter-final opportunity. The performance we gave is not enough and that’s my responsibility. I feel like I have majorly let the fans down.”

The Ibrox side were without top scorer Alfredo Morelos, who was omitted from the squad last night after returning late from a sanctioned trip home to Colombia.

“He came to me ten days or so ago and said his mum wasn’t feeling right and asked for permission to go back to Colombia, which I granted, so he could go and sort his family out.

“He left on Sunday, after the game, because he was suspended [for Braga] and I looked him in the eye and told him he had to be back on Wednesday and he said he appreciated that but he returned 24 hours late. That meant he missed one of the key preparation days ahead of this game and I decided to go with people who had done the full preparation and were desperate to be available.”

Saying it was up to his team-mates to say whether he had let them down, he added: “Would he have helped us today? I’m sure he would. Would I have picked him today if he had been back on Wednesday? 100 per cent.

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“This is a kid who I have loved and I still do love him. He is a top player and he has scored a great volume of goals for us. But we all know that from time to time what he does and what he is about. I couldn’t forget players who are working ever so hard and are desperate for an opportunity over a player with discipline like that.”