Rangers boss Steven Gerrard eyes new faces as patience snaps with fringe stars

Steven Gerrard has called on the Rangers Board to back him in the transfer market this summer.

He believes players will want to join him because the Ibrox club are on the brink of “something special”.

But the former England captain concedes that cash could be a stumbling block in attracting the quality he’s looking for.

Gerrard is planning a clear-out of players he believes aren’t up for the fight in a Rangers jersey.

A number of them were involved in a midweek friendly against Liverpool Under-23s that was described as “embarrassing” by the manager.

The Light Blues were 4-0 down at half-time, and only recovered to get a 4-4 draw after the introduction of four teenagers.

Gerrard already has a list of players – most of them soon to be out of contract – that he would like to recruit.

But has he been told how much he can spend on reinforcements?

“Not if you’re talking about a number,” he replied. “What I would say is that up to now, I’ve been given the support that I’ve asked for.

“It’s clear to see that for us to be successful and compete for the big prizes, we are going to need better quality in the starting XI.

“I don’t think it will be a problem attracting people to come and play for this club.

“You see players like Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis, who had many options to go elsewhere, being excited about what’s going on here.

“What I can’t control is what other clubs want for players and wage demands.

“In terms of convincing players this is a good place to be, and on the brink of maybe something special, that’s quite easy for me to sell.”

Not every transfer is a success, that’s true at every club. But Rangers spent around £4-million recruiting Croatian full-back Borna Barisic and Albania winger Eros Grezda last summer.

They also paid Hearts several hundred-thousand pounds for Kyle Lafferty.

There has been little sign of the Light Blues getting a return for their money.

It’s understood all three were substituted in the game against Liverpool’s youngsters that enraged Gerrard.

He said: “I’m not here to speak about individual players, but I’ve already spoken about Grezda and Barisic a while ago.

“Have I seen anything in the interim to show me they’ve taken it on board?

“Well, one’s been injured. But have they played in the starting XI?

“Not much – so that’s the answer to your question.”

Gerrard believes Rangers still have to weed out some malingerers – and his fears were confirmed in the Liverpool friendly.

“There were a number of players who just downed tools,” he continued.

“Unfortunately, when I came into the club, there were a lot of players who were holding Rangers back and slowing it down.

“And there’s still some around. At the right time, I will address that.

“At the midweek game, I spoke to the players afterwards, and let them know what I thought.

“Only one came back to me and said I was right.”

With Rangers captain James Tavernier a doubt for today’s home game against Aberdeen, Jon Flanagan could get a rare outing at right-back.

Gerrard says the former Liverpool defender’s recent absence from the squad shows he has no favourites.

He said: “Only Jon knows why he came off his form. That’s for him to talk about if and when he wants.

“My job is to pick the best players, who give us the best chance of winning.

“There was a period for a few months when he wasn’t being the Flanno I know.

“I’m not someone who picks on reputation, name, or relationship. I pick the best player who will do the best job for this club.

“I used to have one-to-ones with Jon when I played alongside him.

“Jon hasn’t got an ego and I haven’t got an ego.

“When he is fantastic, like he was last weekend against Hearts at Tynecastle, I told him, face-to-face, that he was outstanding.”