Steven Gerrard blanked his Scottish Cup flops after watching them lose 1-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle.
The rookie Ibrox boss raced straight up the tunnel when Steven McLean blew the final whistle as his side crashed to defeat at Tynecastle for the second time in five weeks. Bottom of the SPFL Hearts have won three league games all season.
Gerrard has appeared increasingly distant from his players since the turn of the year. The fist pumping celebrations at Celtic Park two months ago have come back to haunt the Liverpool legend as he faces a second trophyless season in management.
Rather than read the riot act out to his players Gerrard opted to discuss the match with his coaching staff as the players stewed with their own thoughts and emotions in the dressing room.
Having whipped up expectations in the first half of the season Gerrard is now staring failure in the face- but can’t face the players that he coached, prepared and selected for today’s defeat.
“Bitterly disappointed with the result and outcome of the game, we got what we deserved”
? Steven Gerrard with a very honest assessment on his side’s performance this evening#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/Ln3br79z2U
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) February 29, 2020
Gerrard told Premier Sports: “I haven’t been in with the players, it’s not the right time for me to go in with the players. I stayed with my staff, I’ve just been chatting to my staff.
“We got what we deserved, I thought we were second best for the majority of the game. We had two really decent opportunities from crosses and set pieces, besides that we haven’t done anywhere near enough to win a quarter-final. We got what we deserved today and it’s really, really frustrating.”
Rangers came through a tough Europa League tie with Braga in midweek to reach the last 16, but Gerrard refused to use that as an excuse.
He said: “It’s got nothing to with midweek. This is a quarter-final with our most realistic chance of getting to a final and finishing our season on a high.
“They were fantastic on Thursday, I was probably the proudest man in the world after that performance they gave me on Thursday and I said that after the game.
“But that was tough to watch and I’m responsible for that so I need to have a real strong, long think in the next few hours.
“I think when we’re underdogs we’re fantastic. We’ve got a lot of characters and a lot of leaders in there and they perform sometimes to a level that sometimes is above what we’re capable of. And I praise them really strongly for that because it’s great to watch and it’s great to see.
“But when we’re expected to go somewhere that’s tough, where a team comes and makes it difficult for you we’ve struggled, certainly of of late, certainly since the turn of the year.
Gerrard is due to meet the media on Tuesday to preview the visit of Hamilton Accies to Ibrox but it is likely that Gary McAllister will be sent out to share the don’t panic message reminding everyone that they will fight for the title until it is mathematically impossible.
Mark Warburton, Graeme Murty and Pedro Caixinha all led the Ibrox side to Scottish Cup semi-finals.