THE statistics only tell part of the story. For Steven Gerrard, the reality is more important than the perception when it comes to the Old Firm.
Defeat for Rangers at Parkhead would end their faint hopes of a Premiership title challenge and leave them 13 points adrift of Celtic at the top of the table.
After 31 games last season, the gap was 11, albeit Rangers were behind Aberdeen in the standings.
The debate about what progress Rangers have made under Gerrard has been ongoing for some time and it will no doubt continue long after the final whistle on Sunday. For Gerrard’s detractors, the numbers say it all.
“It’s a question that could have opinion from everywhere,” Gerrard said.
“If you are the type of person who sits behind a computer and puts comments on a forum, you are probably saying ‘it’s nowhere near good enough, we haven’t closed the gap, it’s a disaster, it’s the same problems, blah, blah, blah.’
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“But if you know football, you are educated and you analyse it properly, I think you will be aware there has been progress made.
“Would we like to be closer in terms of the points? Of course. But people talk about closing the gap to Celtic. Obviously, the gap is ten points. That’s the reality.
“Everyone’s opinion is the same on that, but we analyse ourselves on where we are. We’re not where we are because of us v Celtic because we have won one and lost one.
“We are where we are because we have hurt ourselves and we have drawn games where we should have been good enough to take maximum points i.e. three draws against Hibs, one away against Dundee, we never turned up against St Johnstone.
“That’s where we fell short. It’s a completely different question than ‘have you closed the gap on Celtic?’ “
The league table doesn’t make for pleasant reading for Gerrard or a support that have been starved of success for so long.
He is confident that his side are on the right track, however.
“We have closed the gap on Celtic because they took three points and we took three points,” Gerrard continued. “And I think you would all agree that the contests are a lot closer than they were 12 months ago. But the reality is that it’s 10 points.
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“If you’re keyboard man, you’ll probably say ‘no, we haven’t closed the gap’. I analyse it properly and I believe we are closer. I believe we are better. I believe we are moving forward. The reality is that we have put a nice base, a strong base in here.
“Further down the line, we’re going to have to try to decorate the cake and that means adding to what’s already here, improving in certain areas of the pitch so that we are better in the games against Hibernian, better in the games against St Johnstone, so we have more quality in certain areas, more people who can unlock the door. We are scoring just as heavily, if not more than last year.
“We are conceding fewer than last year so there has definitely been progress, but it’s a very interesting conversation for anyone at the moment. ‘Have you closed the gap? … blah, blah, blah’. It’s a very interesting conversation.”
When Rangers won at Ibrox in December and moved level with Celtic, there was a feeling that the title race was on and the third derby clash of the campaign could prove to be defining in the Premiership. As it turns out, there are only really bragging rights at stake now.
If Rangers are to put even a kernel of doubt in Celtic’s minds, Gerrard knows his side must win away.
“The reality is 13 points would be a big blow for us,” he said. “It would be disappointing and a lot of criticism would be flying. That’s certainly what we don’t want to experience. A draw is not really helpful and it’s not the result we are going there for.
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“We are going there to win the game but it is a big ask. It is a good team and a good manager.
“They have got the opportunity to put right what was wrong at Ibrox. They will be fired up for it themselves. We need to be ready for it. We know what’s coming. But if we are to go there and get the result we are all looking for, of course it does make it more interesting than it is right now.”
It was at Parkhead in September that Gerrard suffered his first defeat as Rangers boss. Just hours after clinching a Europa League berth in Ufa, his side were well beaten.
The game was still memorable for Gerrard as an occasion. Now he wants a victory to cherish on his second trip across Glasgow.
“I used to watch the Old Firms as a player with Liverpool and wish I could play in them,” he said. “At the time, for either team, I used to say ‘I’d love to play in one of them’.
“We used to put them on the telly, the atmosphere, the build-up, the commentary. I’d be sitting on the edge of my seat thinking ‘I’d love to play in one of them’.
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“As a player, Everton away, Man United away, they were my most hostile atmospheres, similar to how Celtic Park will be for James. I will honestly admit I preferred the away fixtures to the home fixtures because I thrived off them. I liked playing on the edge.
“Sometimes I got it wrong or didn’t play well, certainly in my younger years, but when the fixtures came out, they were the ones I looked forward to the most.
“The opening minutes [at Parkhead] were a bit like a ‘wow’. The first time I experienced it, wow, the game is quick, there’s a lot happening.
“It took me some minutes to settle down, but once I settled, it was fine and I enjoyed the experience. It was a good game and I think it will be very similar on Sunday.
“It will be fast, there will be tackles, it will be a typical derby in the opening scenes, but the players have got to thrive on that and really enjoy and look forward to that. I mean, what a game. What a game. Of course, we won’t have many fans to cheer us on, but that’s just the way it is. Celtic came here and had to put up with it at Ibrox. We will have to go and do the same. That’s just life.”
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