Rapid Vienna 1-0 Rangers: Steven Gerrard calls for signings after Europa League exit
Last updated on .From the section Rangers
Steven Gerrard says he cannot criticise his Rangers players for their defeat by Rapid Vienna but says his side's Europa League exit shows a need for signings.
Rangers required a win in Austria to qualify for the last 32 but were undone by Dejan Ljubicic's 84th-minute winner.
Gerrard - who criticised his fringe players after Sunday's draw at Dundee - says he needs "quality" reinforcements.
"I think to compete at this level and have ambitions to go further, the players need some help," Gerrard said.
- Rapid win knocks Rangers out Europa League
- 'Unsettled' Ejaria faces Gerrard talks over loan
- Reaction & as it happened
Rangers were without two injured wingers - Daniel Candeias and Ryan Kent - as well as midfielder Ovie Ejaria, who the manager described as "unsettled".
"I thought we were good for 80 minutes and I can't really ask the players to give any more," Gerrard said.
"With what we had available tonight, I thought everyone gave an almighty effort and I think it is very hard for me to criticise the players for what they gave.
"We were trying to roll the dice and go a little more adventurous to try and create something to get that moment we needed at 0-0 and, unfortunately, we've conceded on a counter attack."
'Rangers paid for failings against Spartak'
Rangers came through four qualifying rounds to reach the group stage, and eventually finished third in the section - one above their seeding - behind Villarreal and Rapid.
In 14 matches in this season's competition, they have lost just twice but the 4-3 defeat to Spartak in Moscow and the home draw with the Russians was vital, according to Gerrard.
"The players deserve incredible praise for taking this group to the wire," he said.
"We will certainly take ourselves back to maybe Moscow at home, 0-0, and a couple of the chances we missed - and we'll take ourselves back to Moscow away, when we scored a perfectly good goal, but we will also analyse our individual mistakes within it.
"I think, if you analyse the journey as a whole, the players have done fantastically well, but the reality is, at this level, we've fell a little bit short and that is my job to try and address that."
'Rangers lack quality from middle to front' - Analysis
Former Rangers midfielder Alex Rae on Good Morning Scotland:
"They will reflect on it and be disappointed they didn't progress from the group because there was most certainly an opportunity there for them.
"Rangers are well organised and quite well structured, but ultimately they are lacking quality from middle to front. They need to get reinforcements in that area.
"[Gerrard] has put the question to the board and they have backed him to this point. They have probably made £6m-£8m and they need to get better quality in.
"There is talk of Ovie Ejaria going back to Liverpool and Sadiq [Umar] going back to Roma so that will free up some money for Gerrard to re-invest."
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He has signed 24 (yes twenty four) players since he joined the club. Has no one told him that signing loads of players on big money was their downfall years ago?
they are still paying Tore Andre Flo I think?
He might want to look a bit closer to home for where teh issue lies, and maybe at the ill discipline his team have- how many reds this season?
Lost to 10-man Aberdeen.
Drew with bottom-of-the-table 10-man Dundee.
Lose in the Europa League and out of Europe.
Normal service has been resumed.
How long till the orcs call for Gerrard to go?
How does this club satisfy FFP? It appears to be a serious loss making shambles.
Makes no sense to me - if my business failed I'd have to sell off all assets to help pay the creditors. IMO Rangers should have been dissolved if they couldn't meet their debt repayments
It is delightful watching Sevco free-falling into liquidation the same way as Rangers (1872-2012) did.
Let's be real. It's a considerable improvement on last season's efforts.
I'm far from a Rangers or Liverpool fan, but how have you come to that conclusion when Rangers are second in the SPL and they narrowly missed out on Europa League progression.
A new club was then forcibly granted entry into the Third Division.
And SG thought they played well for 80 minutes, he can't ask any more that that of his players? I'm no expert, but that seems like a strange attitude to have when the game lasts a minimum of 90 minutes.