RANGERS manager Steven Gerrard last night revealed he is keen to tie up Steven Davis, Jermain Defoe and Allan McGregor on new contracts - and warned he will struggle to replace the vastly-experienced trio if they depart Ibrox this summer.

Midfielder Davis, 34, striker Defoe, 37, and goalkeeper McGregor, 37, have all performed superbly both domestically and in Europe this season and Gerrard has made ensuring he keeps hold of all three of them a priority.

Davis is out of contract at the end of the 2019/20 campaign while Defoe’s loan agreement with Bournemouth also runs out at the same time - when his deal with the English Premier League club also expires.

McGregor, meanwhile, will automatically trigger a one-year extension if he plays a set number of first team matches for Rangers this season and Gerrard is confident that will happen before Christmas.

The Liverpool and England great has recently secured the services of both centre half Nikola Katic and midfielder Ryan Jack on long-term contracts and he has targeted sorting out the futures of Davis, Defoe and McGregor next.

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“There will be more news on the horizon about people staying for longer,” he said. “The people I’m talking about are the likes of Jermain Defoe, Allan McGregor, Steven Davis—they‘re not on long-term deals but are very much in the plan.

“They’re on top form and players we want around longer than come the end of the season. Stuff like that is on the horizon, but there’s nobody we need to affect today or tomorrow.”

Gerrard stressed he has no qualms about giving three players in their thirties new deals given their high fitness levels and complete devotion to their profession and pointed out that Davis, Defoe and McGregor are all a positive influence in his squad as well.

“I don’t look at age,” he said. “I look on form, I look on what you offer, what your contribution is on a daily basis, what you are bringing to the team and what you are potentially bringing to the team over how many years we are talking.

“I think when you’re dealing with players of this age, you’re never going to offer them a two or three year deal. Of course you are not, there’s no need. But at the same time you don’t want to lose them because they’re so valuable to us.

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“They are players who help drive the standards and drive the dressing room and are helping me on a daily basis. So it is slightly different in this scenario - it’s more what they deserve and what they bring.

“That’s massive. Can you imagine how difficult my job would be now if those three were leaving in the summer or they knocked on my door and said they don’t want to play any more?

“How do you go and find a world class goalie who is ready, who is going to make big saves in Europe, who is going to make big saves domestically with the budgets that are available? How do you go and find a No 9 who can score at any given time and has a lot of caps?

“And how do you go and find someone who has Steven Davis’s experience, who can run games of football and is a model professional? I think sometimes you’ve got to realise what you’ve got and tickle what you’ve got and look after what you’ve got.”

READ MORE: Steven Gerrard: Ultimate professional Steven Davis is in the form of his life at Rangers

Gerrard added: “I don’t want any crazy Alan Hansen quotes coming out here, but balance is important. That you’ve energy and youth and people that get the best out of the older guys in the dressing room. But vice versa.

“These young guys need guidance, need professionals, need to see people across the board that set 100 per cent standards every single day. At the moment I think we have the balance right.”