STEVEN GERRARD has blasted the decision to play Ross McCrorie at centre-back last season, saying it could have “destroyed” his career. Rangers star McCrorie was handed his first-team debut last season when he replaced Bruno Alves in the Betfred Cup quarter-final win over Partick Thistle. Steven Gerrard on the touchlinePA:Press Association And then-Gers boss Pedro Caixinha claimed just days later that the 20-year-old was in line to become one of Scotland’s greatest ever centre-backs. McCrorie, a midfielder by trade, went on to make 25 appearances in all competitions for the Ibrox side last season. He continued to play in defence under Graeme Murty, and he was shown a red card in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic. Now however, Gerrard has described Caixinha and Murty’s decisions to have the youngster playing at centre-back as “careless”. “I’ve missed the buzz of walking out into full stadiums.” Steven Gerrard’s reign at Rangers begins tonight Rangers v Shkupi 7.15pm BT Sport 1 HD and 4K UHD pic.twitter.com/xxJaaVlNGr — Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) July 12, 2018 And he admitted it played a part in Rangers splashing out on moves for Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic. Speaking to BT Sport, Gerrard said: “You look at the centre-back position when we came in, we lost one of our main players on a free to Germany. How to claim your FREE £10 bet 1 Register for Sun Bets here 2 Bet £5 or more 3 Sun Bets will stick a £10 bet in your account “We had a player playing at centre-back position that wasn’t his real position, who was 19 years of age and thrown in at the deep end, who could have been destroyed in terms of his career. “We felt that decision was careless. “We had a player at the World Cup who was 36 years of age. “So that was the main priority to try and address, that’s the reason why we went out and spent the money we did on Connor Goldson, and also the reason why we bought Katic as well.” Ross McCrorie in action for Rangers last seasonKeith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow Meanwhile, Gerrard explained the rationale behind Rangers’ transfer business so far this summer. And he insisted the new arrivals at Ibrox must show they’re ready to give everything for the club. He said: “It was very important that I improved the spine of the team. “I wanted the team to get bigger. I wanted the team to get stronger, more physical, fitter. RELATED STORIES Porn star who ‘dreamt up’ Rangers’ controversial EBT system declared bankrupt swan stay Rangers-daft Oliver McBurnie signs new three-year deal at Swansea City PROUD NATION Steven Gerrard sends heartfelt message to England’s World Cup stars LATE SHOW Rangers new boys Sadiq and Coulibaly WON’T feature in Euro clash with FC Shkupi DONE DEAL Parma have confirmed the signing of ex-Rangers stopper Bruno Alves FLOP SHOP Ex-Rangers winger Dalcio 'set for loan spell’ just months after Benfica return “I wanted to change the profile of the team and the players we’ve gone into the transfer market for, they have to be players that are still hungry. “Players that need the stage to come and perform for their individual careers. ‘NEVER RULE IT OUT’ Charlie Adam refuses to rule out a return to Rangers “We don’t want players who have been round the block and lost that bit of hunger, and they’re just happy to be a Rangers player and pick up the wages. “These players have to come to work to work and improve and to try and give everything they’ve got for this club.” Keep up to date with ALL the latest news, transfers and goals from Scottish football plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
Source: Scottish Sun, News
Source: Scottish Sun, News
