Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has warned Steven Davis he won’t be picking teams based on reputation or experience, as the January signing continues to struggle to reach peak fitness and form.
Davis was a much-hyped arrival from Southampton during the transfer window, along with fellow veteran Jermain Defoe, but has failed to make the kind of impact fans were hoping for.
Making just four starts, Gerrard has turned to players like Glen Kamara instead of the Northern Ireland international and has warned Davis he needs to up his game to be included going forward.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Gers boss said of Davis:
We have had quite a few conversations since he arrived. But I won’t be getting into the habit of pulling an individual player aside every two or three days or over-speaking to them, because they would get bored of my voice.
What I do is make it clear to the players, as a group, that this is how it works and I pick the players who I think will get the job done. I go for players in form, players who want to keep hold of the shirt and fight for the shirt, and we go from there.
No one can knock on my door and say they haven’t had a fair crack at the whip. I think sometimes it comes down to individuals to analyse their situation and self-reflect.
Basically find the answers to any questions themselves. They need to ask themselves: ‘What do I need to do to get another opportunity’? Then: ‘What do I need to do to take that opportunity?’
I’ve got no doubts if we get the best Steven Davis there will be game-time and opportunities for him in the short-term and long-term.
They’re very interesting comments and Davis is of course experienced enough to know that nothing comes for free at a team like Rangers when it comes to team selection.
Gerrard is trying to set an unbeatable standard at Auchenhowie and Ibrox and is quite right to give a less established player like Glen Kamara a run in the team given his immediate burst of form.
It’d be great to see Davis become far more influential on this squad, this team and our performances, but if it’s not to be then it’s not to be. The Rangers boss knows exactly what he is looking for and right now the 34-year-old is not offering it.