Rangers suffered a 1-0 loss to Livingston on Sunday afternoon.
Pressure on Steven Gerrard is beginning to increase for perhaps the first time in his managerial spell at Rangers after they suffered a 1-0 loss to newly-promoted Livingston on Sunday – and plenty of work will be done on the training ground.
Dolly Menga found the back of the net from close range in the first half to secure three points for Gary Holt’s men, with Rangers proving largely ineffective against Livi’s 3-5-2 system.
Livi’s physicality numbed Rangers attack, which normally sees both Borna Barisic and James Tavernier look to whip the ball into the box. Instead, Livi’s back three nullified the Gers attack.
It is sure to see Gerrard take to the training ground this week to work on different ways of breaking a team down, while set-piece defending is also likely to be on the agenda after a number of mistakes at Almondvale.
But James Tavernier is a player that Gerrard has to focus on. The Gers skipper is set for a long stay at Ibrox after signing a new deal last month, but if he is to remain one of the first names on the team sheet, Gerrard must get to work.
Indeed, it is becoming more and more clear this season that Tavernier – who is renowned for his efforts going forward – simply does not know how to defend from set-pieces.
On Sunday, he was lucky not to be at fault for Rangers conceding from a free-kick. Craig Halkett’s knockdown was pushed inches wide of the post by Alan Lithgow, who had been being marked by Tavernier.
The Gers right-back was caught on his heels and it is not the first time. During the 3-3 draw with Motherwell, Tavernier was at fault for two of the goals – both of which came from set-pieces as he lost his men.
On the training ground, Gerrard must look to improve his captain’s set-piece defending as soon as possible, with Tavernier guilty of ball-watching when a free-kick or corner is played in.
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