Steven Gerrard asked about Rangers’ priority this season

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Glasgow Rangers are gearing up for their Europa League play-off tie, while the Ibrox faithful are dreaming of Scottish Premiership glory.

In comments reported by Rangers TV, Steven Gerrard has responded when asked whether Rangers would prefer to reach the Europa League group-stages or win the Scottish Premiership title this season.

After another productive summer, there appears to be a growing sense of optimism amongst the Ibrox faithful, especially in light of the way that the Gers have started the campaign.

Gerrard’s men have won eight of their opening nine fixtures in all competitions, leaving them with a perfect record in the league and two games away from reaching the group-stages in Europe for the second year running.

And ahead of the first-leg of their play-off tie with Legia Warsaw, Gerrard was asked whether he would prefer to come out on top in this tie, or lift the Scottish Premiership title this year.

“I think the answer is pretty simple,” he told Rangers TV. “I think they’re both very important. A club the size of Rangers has to compete for all the prizes that are available. Of course, for financial reasons, the Europa League is very important and also for our supporters, and that goes the same for everything domestically so they’re both very important to us.”

It is probably the perfect answer from Gerrard. Of course, the large majority of Rangers fans would rather be knocked out at this stage of the competition and go on to win the top flight title than reach the next round in Europe and watch Celtic win the league.

But it would be a mistake for Gerrard to convey that fact given that the league season has barely begun, while Legia are Rangers’ next opponents and that objective can be achieved in the very near future.

And by suggesting that both competitions are particularly important, Gerrard has perhaps sent out a big statement regarding the confidence that he has in his squad and their ability to cope with the various competitions.