Steven Gerrard looks to have taken positive action after his side’s disappointing 1-0 friendly defeat to Tranmere Rovers at the weekend after it was announce that another Premier League side has been pencilled in to an already packed pre-season schedule.
This time, Burnley Under-23s will travel to Glasgow to play at the Auchenhowie training centre on July 14th which is a clear indication of the manager’s frustration with some of his fringe players and the fact that he will want his first choice side to spend more time together to iron out the creases he identified, as reported by Sky Sports:
“As we move along we will get stronger and better and there will be a better level of performance.
“It’s quite frustrating to lose the game. The big picture, the result is not important at the moment but the takeaway is where we have to improve, certainly the final third.”
If we are continuing to play two different XIs in each half, there will be little opportunity for to build up any real momentum, yes, pre-season is all about getting minutes into the legs but it is also an important time to work on shape and patterns of play.
Will Rangers be stronger than last season?
Yes
No
Thankfully, the likes of Borna Barisic, Filip Helander and Glen Kamara will soon return plus Alfredo Morelos and Fashion Sakala will also be added to the squad but having an additional friendly thrown into the schedule shows that Gerrard will be utilising that fixture to give fringe players minutes so that he doesn’t have to rotate as heavily in games against Arsenal and Real Madrid.
It’s not quite panic stations just yet but it at least shows that Gerrard is concerned with what he has seen so far and taken positive steps to rectify it as Gers look to get off to the same flying start as they did last season.