Rangers swept aside Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar last night and did so without ever having to leave first gear, although a moment of madness from George Edmundson almost put paid to the ever expanding clean sheet record since the start of the season.
Gerrard shuffled his pack by bringing in Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, Cedric Itten, Greg Stewart, Glen Kamara and Edmundson with the added bonus of Steven Davis and Ryan Kent getting to sit the whole game out.
Following on from the weekend’s fiasco where four players went off injured, Kemar Roofe suffered a similar fate to that of Ryan Jack on Saturday when he left the field with the end of the first-half approaching, the Gers gaffer later confirming that the forward came off as a precaution after feeling tightness in his calf – got to love those plastic pitches.
With four different goal scorers and one for Jermain Defoe on his return to action, there was much to cheer about, even if the overall intensity was understandably low key, both full-backs also continued their fine starts to 2020/21, Borna Barisic having a hand in two goals and James Tavernier scoring a beautifully taken free-kick to open the scoring.
Should Gerrard prioritise the league this season?
Yes - rest players in cup and European competitions
No - strongest team every game
Nathan Patterson got a solid 45 minutes under his belt and created a couple of chances in an energetic performance, it was always going to be about getting the job done and the 5-0 scoreline suggests that Rangers went about their business in a professional manner.
Tougher tests now lie on the horizon with Hibs, Willem II and Motherwell all away from home over the next week, with no fans and all of the fixtures being on grass, three wins would be a huge boost leading up to the first Old Firm fixture of the season.