Gerrard urges Rangers squad to defend Premiership title
The Rangers boss has urged his Scottish Premiership title-winning squad to protect and defend their crown with their lives.
The
Rangerssquad will go back to pre-season training on Monday, seven weeks after grabbing their 55th top-flight trophy.
They will begin their new campaign going against Livingston on July 31, with
Steven Gerrard
eager to achieve domestic cup success and progress in the Champions League.
"
I feel really optimistic and excited about the future at Rangers,"
Gerrard told Rangers' official souvenir magazine.
"I want us to defend this championship with our lives and also attack 2021/22 with everything we have got, with hopefully all our fans back at Ibrox and at away games if the coronavirus restrictions allow for that.
"But for me, that is what being at this club is all about - it is about success, trophies and keeping that hunger and consistency moving forward.
"That hunger is either in you or it is not and I think the day when I don't feel it is in me is the day I won't get involved in football or I'll call it a day.
"It goes without saying that we have missed our supporters massively and, while we want to build on our recent league success for them, we also want to improve and go further in the domestic cup competitions while striving to be better in Europe.
"So there is much to play for next season and with new faces in our squad there is no reason why we can't go into it with great optimism, excitement and belief."
The Gers went beyond the 100-point obstacle, set a record with their clean sheets, and won all 18 games at Ibrox, finishing the 2020-21 season unbeaten, which was their first triumph since 2011.
"
The pressure was on us to bring the title back to Ibrox for so many reasons,"
he said.
"Aside from the fact that our city rivals were aiming for a record number of successive titles, it had been a decade since Rangers were Scottish champions, which was far too long.
"As with every season, what was so important for us in 2020/21 was that we always looked ahead to the next game, never beyond that.
"At this club the demands and expectations are that you need to win week in week out, so not for one second can you take your eye off the ball.
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