In Good Shape For Accies

STEVEN GERRARD reckons his side head to Hamilton in fine fettle tomorrow after an “extremely positive” second half performance against Hibernian on Wednesday night.

The Light Blues were being held 1-1 at half-time at Ibrox, but turned in a superb second 45 with Ianis Hagi grabbing the winning goal with five minutes left to play.

The manager was also pleased to see his players come through unscathed Wednesday unscathed ahead of the Scottish Cup clash tomorrow.

He told this morning’s press conference: “We are looking okay and we have had no problems from the Hibernian game, so we go in as we were.

“If we feel as if it’s necessary to freshen it up then we always look to do that, irrespective of the fixture or the competition. If someone is looking tired or we want to change something tactically, we always look into that, but there won’t be wholesale changes as it’s a cup game – it’s a cup we want to try and go all the way in and it’s an important game for us so we will certainly be picking a strong team.

“That’s what we’ll be doing tomorrow and we will be going there in decent shape, certainly on the back of the second half performance against Hibs that was extremely positive and really close to where we have been for the majority of the season.

“So hopefully we can take-off from there.”

One man who will be missing, however, is Ryan Jack, though he is edging closer to a return with the manager adding: “Hamilton is just a little bit too soon for him. All being well, there is a possibility he could be in training on Monday.”

The boss then continued on the Hibernian game: “Collectively, everyone was at it. Both in and out of possession, I thought the intensity and energy levels were exactly where I want them, and I thought we continued to push and I think the crowd followed us and came right behind us.

“We had 15 corners and I think the second most crosses we have put in against an opponent.

“We could have scored at least another two or three goals, albeit but for the keeper or our individual players not taking their chances at the time.

Gerrard knows the threats which Accies can pose, and said: “They are very effective on the pitch and they have a good coach with players who, if you don’t defend against them properly, they can hurt you.

“So we are expecting a tough competition, and every time we have gone there they have tried to stay in the game for as long as they can and we have had to finish them off late on in the game.

“Recently, analysing the game they played against Celtic, they were in it up until 12 or 13 minutes to go, so we expect a very tough fixture but we have respect for their coach and their players.”

The manager was also asked today about the performances of Connor Goldson. Gerrard explained: “Connor has been extremely consistent. He has maybe had one or two games where he hasn’t been himself, but Connor hasn’t missed a training session.

“You can trust him and there is no doubt about it, he makes this team and squad an awful lot stronger.

“So I am delighted with his form and he needs to continue that to the end of the season to give us the best chance of being successful.”