Gers Boss Steven Gerrard Reports A Clean Bill Of Health

STEVEN GERRARD has reported another clean bill of health ahead of Sunday’s trip to Tannadice to face Dundee United.

The Light Blues gaffer was delighted to see his side come through 2-0 against Lech Poznan last night to win Europa League Group D, and also set a new points record for a Scottish team in Europe of 14.

In that victory, the boss was able to make seven changes to his starting side, but not see any drop in the level of performance his side put in.

He revealed changes are likely again in the City of Discovery come noon on Sunday, telling this morning’s press conference: "We have come through last night with no issues. There is obviously a little bit of fatigue and bumps you normally get but nobody is a concern for the weekend.

"That is a real big positive for us. I think you could see clearly last night with the decisions we made, we had one eye on the weekend's fixture.

"I don't think it will be any surprise to see a few changes in the 11. The good thing for me is everyone is performing ever so well, everyone is training well and everyone is giving me something to think about.

"There is a lot of football coming up and the games are coming thick and fast. Everyone needs to be ready to come in and contribute at the right time, but obviously we made decisions on last night's team selection and the substitutions with one eye on the weekend.

"I don't think it will surprise many to see a different XI at the weekend."

That consistency of performance despite the number of changes was perhaps one of the most striking aspects of last night’s match.

Explaining how Gers were able to do that, Gerrard said: "I think everyone knows what we are about and what we try and do in-terms of our philosophy, and what the expectations are and the standards we have tried to set.

"New players have had enough time now to settle in - the idea was always to try and build a squad where you have got two players fighting for each position.

"The training intensity is really where we want it, so look, we are in a good place, but the challenge for us is we have to work even harder and fight even more to retain your form and to keep everyone in a good place.

"You obviously need a little bit of luck along the way to keep people fresh and healthy, and we also have to guard ourselves from the ongoing Covid situation.

"That is what we are doing from day-to-day, but one thing is for sure, I am really content and happy where the boys are at the moment.

"The challenge for everyone is can we maintain it."

United will be without boss Mickey Mellon due to him self-isolating, but in the eyes of Gerrard, that won’t take anything away from the challenge the Taysiders will pose.

Asked what he was expecting on Sunday, Gerrard continued: "A tough game. There is some rivalry there and we expect a bit of needle in the game which we welcome.

"Mickey Mellon is an experienced manager who has been around for a long time. He is a good manager and I think he has come in and done ever-so well at Dundee United.

"It is a shame he won't be there on the side because of Covid reasons, but we expect him to have his team well-drilled.

"They will be competitive and they have got good players so we are expecting a real, tough challenge on Sunday at lunchtime."

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