Steven Gerrard admits 'impossible' task as title destiny looms large for Rangers

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has admitted it will be difficult to ensure his players are not distracted by a growing sense of inevitability around the outcome of their title bid.

The Ibrox side are 21 points clear of Celtic at the top of the Premiership table with the reigning champions having three games in hand.

With just 14 league matches left for Rangers to play, there is a widespread acceptance that they are already as good as certainties to dethrone their Old Firm rivals for the first time in a decade.

But Gerrard is keen to ensure that narrative doesn’t adversely impact the intensity of his team’s approach which he criticised as ‘passive’ in the first half of their 1-1 draw against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard looks less than satisfied at the end of his team's 1-1 draw against Motherwell at Fir Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

“It’s going to be a challenge (to ignore the noise from outside) because the reality is there are big prizes to play for,” said Gerrard.

“It’s impossible not to realise where we are as a group and what’s at stake. But it’s important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves and stay focused on each challenge. That’s where we are trying to keep the boys in terms of their thinking and the preparation.

"After a fantastic win, no-one gets too high and if we have a bump or don’t get the result we want, it’s important to stay calm.

"We haven’t managed to stretch our lead at the top but at the same time we haven’t lost anything either. You’ve seen two sides of us against Motherwell, a first half showing that wasn’t us and wasn’t good enough but the second half was an awful lot better.”

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