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Steven Gerrard calls on Rangers fans to carry players through busy schedule

:Headline: Steven Gerrard calls on Rangers fans to carry players through busy schedule: ID:386934: from db_amp
The Ibrox outfit face a busy eight weeks.

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has called on the Ibrox support to roar his players through their gruelling title-race schedule.

Gerrard's side return to Ladbrokes Premiership action for the first time since their Celtic Park triumph when they host St Mirren on Wednesday night.

But the second half of the campaign is set to test their stamina levels to the maximum.

As well as their Buddies clash, Rangers also have another 14 games – nine in total at home – crammed into an eight-week period leading up to the next international break.

That hectic calendar could become even busier if they progress past Braga in the Europa League and Hamilton in the Scottish Cup.

The Englishman – who has axed Eros Grezda and Andy King this month while also allowing Jamie Murphy and Jamie Barjonas to leave on loan – is confident he has the numbers in his squad to cope with their exhausting programme.

But he wants the Rangers faithful to do their bit to help his team by pumping up the volume levels.

He said: "We had a six-week block before the break where it felt we were away for the majority of it.

"We now need to make the most of Ibrox and we'll certainly need our fans to make some noise.

"Hopefully we can get back into our rhythm and build on our last league performance.

Nikola Katic's goal gave Gers victory at Parkhead last month (Andrew Milligan/PA)

"Our next midweek off isn't until the next international break and if we can perform like we are capable against Braga then there could be more fixtures in the pipeline. There's also the Hamilton game in the cup.

"It's what we're used to and I think that's when we're at our best.

"It's an exciting time, the players look ready and hopefully they can perform (on Wednesday night) against St Mirren."

Rangers sit two points behind Neil Lennon's Hoops but have a game in hand.

A date has yet to be set for the outstanding fixture with St Johnstone and they might be forced to wait until after the league split to play the clash with Tommy Wright's team if they continue to march on in Europe and the cup.

“This squad has proved it can cope with a lot of fixtures in a short space of time”
- Steven Gerrard

But the threat of a fixture pile-up is a worry for another day, according to Gerrard.

"There's no confirmation on the St Johnstone date, we're still waiting for news on that," he said. "It is what is. We'll handle whatever comes our way in terms of what date is announced for that fixture.

"It's out of our control and we are waiting to find a space for it."

Time on the training pitch will be limited in the weeks to come but Gerrard made sure his team got themselves ready for Saints during their winter training camp in Dubai.

He said: "We've had a lot of time to prepare. We didn't just prepare for last Friday's game with Stranraer over the last couple of weeks.

"We've been preparing in a certain way, trying to foresee what kind of tactics we're going to come up against, certainly at home.

"Listening to what *St Mirren boss) Jim Goodwin has said, they're going to be very organised, compact, hard to beat and very stubborn like they were at the game in Paisley (1-0 on August 25). We needed a moment of magic from Borna Barisic that day.

"We've had enough training time, the players know exactly what they need to do and how they need to approach it. Now they just need to execute the game-plan we've given them."

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718
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