Nicholl urges Rangers to impress incoming boss Gerrard
Jimmy Nicholl has urged the Rangers squad to make the most of their final two games of the season if they want to be part of the Steven Gerrard revolution.
The former Liverpool skipper officially does not take up his new role as Gers boss until June 1.
In the meantime, Nicholl has taken over first-team affairs following Graeme Murty's sacking earlier this week.
And the caretaker has warned the Ibrox players he expects the new manager to 'weed out' those who are not up to challenging Celtic.
The Northern Irishman was on the touchline as the Light Blues restored some pride after last weekend's record 5-0 pummelling by Brendan Rodgers' champions with a late 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.
They now travel to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen on Tuesday night before finishing off their campaign away to Hibs next Sunday.
And Nicholl says clinching second spot and a Europa League ticket would be the best way to make an impression on Gerrard.
Speaking after David Bates' 85th-minute winner pushed Gers to within a point of the Dons, Nicholl - who admits he is not sure if he will be kept on either - said: 'I told them, me and Jonatan Johansson have got three games in charge and after Hibs next Monday I'll be away probably.
'I'm standing there as a supporter now. I'm not standing there as a man of any authority.
'So sort it out. Give yourselves a chance in these three games to have the manager looking forward to working with you.
'He'll do a bit of weeding - he'll get the weeds sorted out from the flowers.
'I want to leave him a legacy of European football at least - and by doing that, that means they've performed and he's happy with what he's seen.'
Murty was sacked in the wake of last weekend's humiliating 5-0 drubbing by Celtic but Nicholl was pleased to see his men respond.
Hamburg-bound Bates marked his return from two months out injured by heading home from Sean Goss' deep free-kick late on.
'I asked for a response and we got it,'' said Nicholl. 'There's a way to lose games and the way we lost the last two against Celtic wasn't great. They restored a wee bit of pride.'
Steve Clarke's men have now slipped to their third defeat in a row.
And the angry Killie boss hit out at referee Alan Muir's failure to hand Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos a second yellow after the Colombian was involved in two clashes with Stuart Findlay.
'There was an elbow on Stuart dealt with by a yellow card, which I'm not sure is the right card,' said the Rugby Park boss. 'There was also a punch to his groin later on. He gave a free-kick to us, so he saw the movement - but no second yellow.
'I don't want the lad Morleos to be cited or dealt with because it doesn't help us or this game. But it shows a little bit, for me, the level of the refereeing performance today
'Referees have to be fair to both teams, that's all I ask for.'