STEVEN Gerrard has backed his Rangers players to handle the pressure of having to beat Hibernian at Easter Road for the first time in two years tonight to close the gap on Ladbrokes Premiership leaders Celtic.
Neil Lennon claimed the Ibrox club would be feeling the heat after falling five points behind their Parkhead rivals in the league table after his side had defeated Hearts 2-0 at Tynecastle on Wednesday evening.
Gerrard will be without Steven Davis and Filip Helander (both injured) and his leading scorer Alfredo Morelos (suspended) for the game against Hibs this evening at a ground which his team haven’t won at since December 2017.
But he has complete faith the players who take to the field in Leith can triumph due to the experience they have gained in the Europa League in the past couple of seasons.
“This is a tough challenge for us,” said Gerrard. “We’ve played ever so well on the two occasions we’ve been there (Easter Road) before without being clinical enough to take maximum points. We all know we’re going to have to be at it.”
“Throughout a season – there are challenges and things change. In an ideal world, you’d have a fully fit squad with everyone available, but that doesn’t happen so others need to step up.
“With Alfredo missing out tomorrow, the front three I select against Hibs will also have to step up and take their chances. That’s why you have a big squad."
Gerrard added: “I always have confidence and belief in my team. This group of players has decent experience now of how to deal with challenges – the away ties in Europe, in particular, have helped to show them how we need to look when we’re away from home and the discipline we need to show.
“Hibs will cause us certain problems over the 90 minutes, but I think if we can perform as well as we have in Europe then we’ll be fine.”
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