Steven Gerrard admits he fears losing one of Rangers’ top stars in the last week of the transfer window - and not being allowed to replace them.
The Ibrox boss claims he’s satisfied with the squad he has to take him through until January and will only add to it if there’s a late chance of heart from Liverpool on a Ryan Kent loan.
But he’s aware of interest in the likes of Alfredo Morelos and James Tavernier and believes a decent bid for any of his main men might end up leaving him short.
Gerrard said: “We’ll find out in the coming days. I predict that a bid will land for one of my players.
"I think you'll see some movement out. There's some offers swirling about for certain individuals, so there will be news broke over the seven or so days that are left.
“But I can't see there being any change the other way unless something comes out of the blue and takes away one of our players we might have to replace.
“That could happen. There's nothing really solid yet that we have to make a decision on, but it's getting warmer as they days go by, so I predict there could be some outgoings.
"I'm comfortable in certain situations with certain personnel going out and playing football, players who are maybe not in my plans.
“What I'm not comfortable with is if a bid comes out of the blue for a player that is in my plans, that's when I would have a decision to make.”
With eight days to go until deadline day, Gerrard is hoping any bid which will be to the detriment of his squad will be knocked back but he confessed: “I think it would depend on what comes from above, what their opinion is on it.
“At the end of the day it’s their money, the players are owned by the board. I want to keep as many good players as I can but I’m also not stupid enough to realise that if a bid comes for a player and the board accept it then it’s a tough position for me to be in.
“I’d give my opinion but at the end of the day we’ve all got bosses haven’t we?”
Asked if he and his scouting staff would be in a position to replace like with like at the last minute, he added: “Of course we always think worst-case scenarios…’what if’, imagine if’. That type of work is always going on.
“I was watching clips of players this morning again, just in case. But certain players are more difficult to replace than others. And each day that goes by, that becomes tougher. "There will be a cut-off point in the coming days where we go ‘we don’t even pick the phone up’. It’s a simple as that because there is no possible way we can move forward and challenge on all fronts if we were to lose a main player.”
Meanwhile despite constant speculation on Kent’s fate at Anfield, Gerrard insists he’s they're still in a shielding pattern.
He sighed: “I don't really want to speak about it because nothing is happening on it.
“There's been no change or developments since the last time we asked Liverpool and were told there wouldn't be a loan situation. Nothing has changed on it.
“But you never give up on trying to improve your team and squad. You never give up on following and tracking top players.
“I made it pretty clear over the course of 12 months working with Ryan how highly I rate him, so I'd never shut the door on any player and certainly top players but I have to understand, respect and appreciate the situation of his parent club, who were obviously very helpful in giving him to us in the first place.
“If you're told no, you have to accept the answer is no until there's ever a time that changes. Where we stand right now that hasn't changed.”
