When Rangers were hit by injuries and suspensions in his first two years in charge, Steven Gerrard watched in frustration as his team stuttered.
The Ibrox boss admits the depth and quality of his squad wasn't right to challenge Celtic for a full season and his top stars were left with a huge burden to carry in terms of both form and minutes.
But Gerrard found the solution in the nick of time and, with his side now sitting 18 points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit, he's happy to share it.
The Scouser reckons a summer of solid work in the transfer market and the natural growth of some players within the squad has left him in a situation where there has been little notable difference on the pitch when personnel changes have been forced.
He admits it's a sign the team is in a "fantastic place" as they look to wrap up an historic title this month, a run-in he urged his players to savour.
Here's everything that Gerrard had to say, from the Europa League draw with Slavia Prague to the sad passing of Ian St John, in today's press conference.
What were your thoughts in reflecting on the victory over Antwerp and looking ahead to the draw against Slavia Prague?
I’m really pleased and satisfied with our performance, it was an outstanding performance from the boys. A lot of superb attacking play, the first three goals we scored were high level goals and we praised the boys on the back of that.
In terms of the draw, it’s an exciting draw for both teams. Both teams are on a real exciting journey from a personal point of view. They’ve performed very well against some high level teams along the way.
Slavia knocking Leicester out was a big coup for them because Leicester are going so well themselves, so they’re going to come into the game full of confidence and rightly so.
But we’ll be ready, we’ll be prepared. We’ve got some real important league games prior to that we need to focus on but we are really looking forward to the two games, they’re mouthwatering and may the best team win and get to the last eight because that opportunity excites us.
It's very exciting times for yourself, the players and the club but how has the focus been during the last few days getting ready for Livingston?
We have to stay focused, we have to stay concentrated because nothing is done or achieved and we want to get over the line as quick as we can. The only way to do that is to respect Livingston. They’re off the back of a tough weekend so we’re aware that they’re going to be a little bit wounded and want to react to that.
We’ve done everything we can in terms of our preparations, we’ve still got one session left this morning, but we’re really looking forward to what’s next and that’s what we should be focusing on.
You’re right in saying we’ve got some wonderful opportunities in front of us in terms of what March can represent and we want to go and capitalise on it, the only way to do that is to go and find performances and that’s what we need to focus on.
Livingston are famously, a committed and well organised side. What attributes will you be looking for from your Rangers team tomorrow night to get the three points?
We have to handle the environment, the pitch. Obviously it’s an astroturf game which gives them an advantage. Davie has done a magnificent job with Livingston since he’s become the No. 1 coach. I know he was there prior and had a big influence but I see a more positive Livingston. I see a Livingston that presses higher and has more energy and more quality than previously with all due respect. The last game we played against a low block that didn’t have any ambition to come near our goal. That was a challenge for us and we didn’t have enough quality to break that down.
Having analysed Livingtson in terms of the last 10 or 15 games which Davie has led, they are certainly more front foot and pressing higher so we see this game as a slightly different challenge to what we’ve faced previously.
It’s one we’ll need to be ready for, we’ll have to compete, we’ll have to fight, we’ll have to do he ugly side of the game and our quality will take over.
What's the team news on Leon Balogun and also how big a month do you see this in context of your Rangers spell?
This season, because of how last season finished and how he previous two have gone, every month has been extremely important. Because we’re coming into March, everyone thinks it’s going to be the pivotal month.
But if I can take you back, we had to start the season ever so strong and then we had to build on that. Then people were telling me we had to make sure we had a real positive Christmas period because of the amount of games and what was coming up and then all of a sudden January was the key month because we had Aberdeen away, we had Hibs away, we had the Old Firm so it was almost like January was the biggest month of all months.
Then you come through January and all of a sudden February is important and now we’re in March and everyone is talking about March. Every month has been key and important but we’ve completed them all because we’ve been consistent and hungry and got the right results, the only setback we’ve had is St Mirren which is a phenomenal season. March presents an opportunity to get over the line in terms of the league. We want to go and grab that as quick as we can, we don’t want to wait, we don’t want to stumble. We want to win this league and that starts tomorrow in terms of our performance at Livingston.
In terms of the Europa League, we’ll be patient now and wait for that to come around but we’re really excited about those two games. We believe we have a decent chance to improve on last season’s journey if we can find the level of performance we had against Antwerp.
But we know Slavia will be a bigger challenge because they’re in the last 16 as well and to get to that level you have to be a good team.
In terms of Leon, he’s struggling for tomorrow. He got a niggle in the quad muscle that he came off the game with. He’s a big doubt tomorrow for sure.
You’ve had a lot of injuries to key players recently but the players who came in have slotted seamlessly in. How key has the extra time on the training pitch been to have that squad mentality?
The volume in the squad and the right personnel, our recruitment in the summer and having a real strong pre-season has set us up for the season. In previous years, the squad hasn’t been ready for us to be missing key personnel, we would have struggled because we’ve been reliant on key individuals too much.
But the biggest compliment I can pay to this squad is no matter what name has been injured, suspended or missing, we’ve coped extremely well so that tells me the squad is in a fantastic place.
With the consistency of your players, how impressed have you been because sometimes teams get close to the winning line and you see them feel the pressure so how impressed have you been with the mentality?
Really impressed with the mentality. We’ve spoke about it on numerous times about where we’ve been trying to get to and what we’ve been striving for and it is that level of consistency and hunger. I can’t pay the players any more credit really because from day one from pre-season they’ve all been focused and sacrificed a lot and their application has been spot on on the training pitch and the level of intensity in training has come out in the games.
That’s certainly helped us get to this point. I don’t see any nerves, I don’t see anyone train and feel intense. I think if you look at our last performances they’ve been a really high level and I want to see that from now until the end of the season.
Has that been different to last year and the year before? Have you seen a difference there?
I’ve definitely seen improvement, I’ve seen a squad that has evolved really well, individuals getting better and maturing and with experience we’ve grew as a group, 100 per cent. This is a fantastic time to be at Rangers. The excitement levels are high, there’s so much on the horizon to be excited about but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing is achieved as of yet as we sit here so we’ve got to go grab it and achieve it and the only way to do that is put in a performance that’s good enough.
On that excitement, do you have to encourage your players to savour this time as well as keeping a focus?
We’ve got to try and enjoy it. Of course we’ve got to savour it but we’ve got to go and achieve it. We’ve got to go and do it. It’s obviously getting closer, you can feel that, I want the players to enjoy it and get excited by it but at the same time, keep that focus and that concentration from the first day of the season. If we do, I’m sure we can go and achieve it, but of course we’re at a stage where we need to enjoy it. That’s what we’re all here for, to be part of a big club and achieve success so I want the players to really enjoy this moment.
When will you let yourself think about what you’ve achieved personally as a manager this season?
When will I allow myself? When it’s done. I’m so proud of this group and what they’ve gave, I feel for the supporters because they’re not here to enjoy it and experience it in terms of being close up and being with us. We’ve tried to make them proud from the first day of the season. The players have done an incredible job. Once this is done, trust me, there will be no one happier and prouder than myself because I don’t think we’ll realise the size of the achievement until it’s done because we won’t allow ourselves to drift and wander too much, because we know we have big challenges in front of us.
While we have been in this press conference, it's been announced Ian St John had died today.
That’s a shock and surprise to me. I didn’t know that. I’ve got nothing around me to see that breaking news so I’m really disappointed to hear that. He’s an iconic figure at Liverpool Football Club. He’s someone I’ve met on numerous occasions and a fantastic guy. Really insightful in terms of his career and his experience at Liverpool and trying to pass on knowledge and expertise so really devastated to hear that news and shocked as well.
I’d like to send my condolences to all his family and everyone close to the Saint. He’s a legend and iconic figure at the club and someone I’ve got incredible respect for.
