BlueMeanie
Well-Known Member
The Ibrox gaffer insists he will put faith in his captain to make the right call for the team.
Steven Gerrard knows all about the pain of missing a penalty.
But more importantly, the Rangers gaffer is well aware of the mental strength required just to step up and take one.
Gerrard was confident of taking spot kicks for his whole career as a player with Liverpool and England.
But as youngster, he wouldn’t have dare ask Anfield icon Robbie Fowler or national hero Alan Shearer to take over penalty duties.
Eventually, at club level, he took on the responsibility as Reds skipper and scored 46 in all competitions.
But Gerrard failed to convert six in his Liverpool career – and at the 2006 World Cup he missed in the quarter-final shoot-out defeat to Portugal for his country.
That’s why he refused to condemn his Ibrox captain James Tavernier in midweek when the full-back squandered his second spot kick on the spin against Feyenoord.
Rather than take the job off him, Gerrard will let his player decide whether he’s got the belief to grab the ball again – or pass it on to a Rangers team-mate.
As he pondered his own experience of penalties, he said: “As you grow, with experience, you get more confidence and belief in yourself to take them.
“Early on in my career, if I’d have said to Fowler that I was on penalties, I would probably have got a back-hander.
“If I’d said it to Shearer on England duty, I would probably get a forearm.
“But as you get older, you earn the right. When there’s a penalty, you either say no or you say give me it.
“That’s what penalty taking is all about. It’s all about what’s in the body and the mind.
“If you have the confidence and belief, go and do it.
“That won’t be the last penalty James misses. But I guarantee that he’ll score an awful lot more as well. That’s the way it is.”
But if you miss two on the trot – vital ones in the Europa League against Progres Niederkorn and Feyenoord – should someone else get a chance?
Gerrard’s not convinced. That’s why he’ll sit down with Tavernier before today’s Premiership game at St Johnstone and decide between them who’ll step up if they get a spot kick in Perth.
Top scorer Alfredo Morelos would be the obvious choice to replace him but the manager insists being a good striker doesn’t make you a good penalty taker.
Gerrard said: “Tav hardly misses a game or a training session. That shows the mental strength of a player. He’s very robust.
“I’ll have a chat with him about penalties because that’s two on the spin and I need to get a feel for where he is with it now.
“But in terms of belief, James is a big player for us. To be a match-winner from right-back is very unusual but he’s won us many a game with a moment of brilliance.
“That’s been from open play, free-kicks or penalties.
“Penalty takers miss penalties. That’s how it is, probably unless you’re Harry Kane at the minute.
“You see quite a few misses these days. I’ll ask James if he’s confident that he’ll score the next one and does he want to take it.
“Then we’ll deal with the situation from there. I can’t see him saying know but you’ll know when we get our next one.
“He’s still got a good record so it will boil down to him, what’s in him.
“There will be two sides to how he’s feeling. One will be, I can’t wait for the next penalty because I’m going to score it.
“And the other will be, maybe it’s for someone else now.
“We’ll see where he is with it. We have other penalty takers around so there’s no pressure on him.
“If he wants to take our next penalty and is confident that he’ll score, he’ll take it.
“Is it tempting to let Morelos take them? He’s a goalscorer but that doesn’t make you a good penalty taker.
“I played with centre-forwards who wouldn’t go near them. Fernando Torres, one of the best centre-forwards I played with, but didn’t fancy penalties.
“It’s down to confidence, belief and bravery. I think James will be fine.”
Gerrard’s team will need plenty of those qualities in the next week as they come down from the high of a Europa League victory – to the Premiership and Betfred Cup.
Rangers face a huge six days where they face Saints, Livingston in the cup, then Aberdeen at home next Saturday.
The manager admits it’s almost impossible to play with the same intensity they did against Feyenoord in every game – but says his players must be able to grind out results.
Gerrard said: “It’s a huge week for us. We’ve got six important points to fight for and the chance to get to Hampden for a semi-final.
“They are all as important as each other so I won’t be rotating my team much.
“It’s difficult to play at the level we reached on Thursday night every time but you can win games in different ways.
“Of course, you can win by being on the front foot, aggressive, trying to roll teams over.
“Or you can do it differently, which we’ll have to do this week.
“One game is on astroturf, we’ve got a tough challenge against Aberdeen and St Johnstone will be on the back of what we did against Feyenoord.
“So it will be tough but players have to come in and perform. A few players got the headlines the other night but it’s up to others to do the same.
“It’s important we got to St Johnstone and be mentally strong. Don’t say we’re tired because we put a lot into Europe.
“We move on quick and be ready.”
Steven Gerrard knows all about the pain of missing a penalty.
But more importantly, the Rangers gaffer is well aware of the mental strength required just to step up and take one.
Gerrard was confident of taking spot kicks for his whole career as a player with Liverpool and England.
But as youngster, he wouldn’t have dare ask Anfield icon Robbie Fowler or national hero Alan Shearer to take over penalty duties.
Eventually, at club level, he took on the responsibility as Reds skipper and scored 46 in all competitions.
But Gerrard failed to convert six in his Liverpool career – and at the 2006 World Cup he missed in the quarter-final shoot-out defeat to Portugal for his country.
That’s why he refused to condemn his Ibrox captain James Tavernier in midweek when the full-back squandered his second spot kick on the spin against Feyenoord.
Rather than take the job off him, Gerrard will let his player decide whether he’s got the belief to grab the ball again – or pass it on to a Rangers team-mate.
As he pondered his own experience of penalties, he said: “As you grow, with experience, you get more confidence and belief in yourself to take them.
“Early on in my career, if I’d have said to Fowler that I was on penalties, I would probably have got a back-hander.
“If I’d said it to Shearer on England duty, I would probably get a forearm.
“But as you get older, you earn the right. When there’s a penalty, you either say no or you say give me it.
“That’s what penalty taking is all about. It’s all about what’s in the body and the mind.
“If you have the confidence and belief, go and do it.
“That won’t be the last penalty James misses. But I guarantee that he’ll score an awful lot more as well. That’s the way it is.”
But if you miss two on the trot – vital ones in the Europa League against Progres Niederkorn and Feyenoord – should someone else get a chance?
Gerrard’s not convinced. That’s why he’ll sit down with Tavernier before today’s Premiership game at St Johnstone and decide between them who’ll step up if they get a spot kick in Perth.
Top scorer Alfredo Morelos would be the obvious choice to replace him but the manager insists being a good striker doesn’t make you a good penalty taker.
Gerrard said: “Tav hardly misses a game or a training session. That shows the mental strength of a player. He’s very robust.
“I’ll have a chat with him about penalties because that’s two on the spin and I need to get a feel for where he is with it now.
“But in terms of belief, James is a big player for us. To be a match-winner from right-back is very unusual but he’s won us many a game with a moment of brilliance.
“That’s been from open play, free-kicks or penalties.
“Penalty takers miss penalties. That’s how it is, probably unless you’re Harry Kane at the minute.
“You see quite a few misses these days. I’ll ask James if he’s confident that he’ll score the next one and does he want to take it.
“Then we’ll deal with the situation from there. I can’t see him saying know but you’ll know when we get our next one.
“He’s still got a good record so it will boil down to him, what’s in him.
“There will be two sides to how he’s feeling. One will be, I can’t wait for the next penalty because I’m going to score it.
“And the other will be, maybe it’s for someone else now.
“We’ll see where he is with it. We have other penalty takers around so there’s no pressure on him.
“If he wants to take our next penalty and is confident that he’ll score, he’ll take it.
“Is it tempting to let Morelos take them? He’s a goalscorer but that doesn’t make you a good penalty taker.
“I played with centre-forwards who wouldn’t go near them. Fernando Torres, one of the best centre-forwards I played with, but didn’t fancy penalties.
“It’s down to confidence, belief and bravery. I think James will be fine.”
Gerrard’s team will need plenty of those qualities in the next week as they come down from the high of a Europa League victory – to the Premiership and Betfred Cup.
Rangers face a huge six days where they face Saints, Livingston in the cup, then Aberdeen at home next Saturday.
The manager admits it’s almost impossible to play with the same intensity they did against Feyenoord in every game – but says his players must be able to grind out results.
Gerrard said: “It’s a huge week for us. We’ve got six important points to fight for and the chance to get to Hampden for a semi-final.
“They are all as important as each other so I won’t be rotating my team much.
“It’s difficult to play at the level we reached on Thursday night every time but you can win games in different ways.
“Of course, you can win by being on the front foot, aggressive, trying to roll teams over.
“Or you can do it differently, which we’ll have to do this week.
“One game is on astroturf, we’ve got a tough challenge against Aberdeen and St Johnstone will be on the back of what we did against Feyenoord.
“So it will be tough but players have to come in and perform. A few players got the headlines the other night but it’s up to others to do the same.
“It’s important we got to St Johnstone and be mentally strong. Don’t say we’re tired because we put a lot into Europe.
“We move on quick and be ready.”
