Glasgow Rangers squeezed their way past Progres and Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard admits it was a grind for the Light Blues.
Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has given his honest opinion on the Ibrox side’s goalless draw with Progres Niederkorn in Luxembourg on Thursday night which confirmed the Gers’ progress into the third qualifying round of the Europa League (official Rangers website).
In the first leg at Ibrox, Rangers put in a strong display against the team which, two years ago, consigned the famous club to one of its most humbling moments in their history, as Joe Aribo curled home the opener for Gerrard’s side, while Sheyi Ojo struck after the break for a 2-0 first-leg lead.
The second leg, however, was a turgid affair and, despite Scott Arfield hitting the woodwork in the first half and Ojo coming close in the dying moments, the Scottish Premiership side failed to add to their two goals from the first leg, though the ultimate goal of reaching the next round was achieved.
The stalemate takes the Light Blues through to the third qualifying round where they will play FC Midtjylland of Denmark, but Gerrard stressed that his side will “have to play better” to repeat last season’s feat of reaching the group stages, and boldly declared that he will not even be watching the game back.
“I thought it was a grind the whole night,” he told the Rangers website. “Our performance was a grind to watch and I’m sure it was a grind to play in… we have done enough and we have gone into the next round, it is a clean sheet and we will take that and move on.
“But I didn’t enjoy watching it – it was just a bit of a grind… I won’t even watch this game back.”
A number of Bears appreciated Gerrard’s honesty and candour, taking to Twitter to give their thoughts:
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
