Steven Gerrard says impact of substitutes in 3-1 win over Motherwell underlines why Rangers have to keep investing in squad

Faced with a 1-0 half-time deficit against a Motherwell side who took the concept of ‘parking the bus’ to extreme levels with their defensive set-up at Ibrox on Saturday, Steven Gerrard was able to turn to a well-stocked substitutes’ bench to find a solution.

Kemar Roofe celebrates his second goal in Rangers' 3-1 win over Motherwell at Ibrox with fellow striker Cedric Itten who was also on target. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

The contributions of Joe Aribo, Ianis Hagi and Cedric Itten as they entered the fray were all a significant factor as Rangers turned it around to rack up a 10th consecutive Premiership victory and move 16 points clear at the top of the table.

For Gerrard, it validated the major investment which has been made in his squad and fuels his belief the club must continue to strengthen it further in future transfer windows.

“Big time, it showed the importance of the depth in our squad,” he said. “That's the reason why I always say that at a club like this, you can't stand still.

“You've got to keep trying to find marginal gains and keep your recruitment going. You've still got to be active and try to move this forward.

“We're not complete. We've still got areas we still need to tweak and change.

“Bringing those players of that quality on against Motherwell was a huge help and hopefully come the end of the season, they will play a huge part.

“I thought the subs were really big and we're going to need the squad over the course of the season. It's not about an XI or any individual. It's all about the squad and the squad is a lot stronger than it was in previous seasons, that's for sure."

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