Time has not healed the disappointment of Rangers’ derby defeat for Steven Gerrard as he bids to bounce back against Livingston.
Gerrard has had almost two weeks to pore over their 2-0 home defeat by Celtic while some of his players have been away on international duty.
But all have gathered together again with the same mindset to go out and start making amends for a disappointing display when Rangers failed to seriously trouble Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
That process could begin when Gary Holt’s team visit Ibrox on Ladbrokes Premiership duty.
Gerrard said: “We all want to get back to winning ways. From a mental point of view, everyone is ready to bounce back.
“Of course, there’s people at different stages. Some have been away and played two internationals, some have travelled a lot, some have stayed behind and worked very hard and are very fresh and ready to go.
“But I think all of us understand the setback and where we were 10 days ago, and that’s the reason I am really looking forward to kick-off on Saturday.
“Because in football you get a chance to bounce back from a disappointment and that’s what we want to do.”
Gerrard’s feelings on the defeat have not changed since he spoke immediately afterwards.
Rangers went into the game on a high after beating Legia Warsaw to reach the Europa League group stages and Gerrard employed the same formation and all but one of the starting XI who had secured a second home win over their city rivals last season.
“It’s more frustration,” he said. “I know what these players can do, individually and collectively. I know some of the top performances they have already delivered. Three days before it they were absolutely magnificent. Maybe that took a little bit out of them, I don’t know.
“But there’s no getting away from it, we have to accept it and be responsible. We took the criticism on the chin and we own up to that.
“All we can do is look forward and try and recover from that. That starts against Livingston. Three points is always the perfect tonic after a big defeat.”
