Rangers boss encourages Worrall to bounce back from blunder

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has backed Joe Worrall to recover quickly from his Rugby Park nightmare.

The on-loan Nottingham Forest defender's blunder turned Wednesday night's clash with Kilmarnock on its head as he let Eamonn Brophy in to cancel out Jermain Defoe's debut opener.

Ibrox-bound Jordan Jones then punished the side he will join this summer as he fired the winner, following another mistake by Ryan Kent.

But it was the moment of madness by Worrall than has drawn the most stinging criticism.

Former Light Blues manager Ally McCoist said he would have considered hooking the 22-year-old as his game went to pieces in the wake of his gaffe.

But Gerrard insists Worrall is strong enough to shake off the error that helped Killie snatch second place from his club.

I don't think Joe is that insecure that he is going to need a cuddle or an arm round from me,'' said his fellow Englishman.

He is a big boy. People make mistakes and he's human.

I'm more interested in his reaction and what he's going to give in terms of performance moving forward.

That is the key. We all make mistakes - that's the game. It's how you react to it.''

It is not just Worrall who will be expected to up his game against Livingston on Sunday.

Gerrard was frustrated his team could not match the performance levels that saw Rangers finally topple Celtic before the winter break.

And the boss concedes his side have been caught cold far too often this season after winning just 12 of their 22 fixtures to date.

Asked if he was looking for a reaction at the Tony Macaroni Arena, he said: One hundred per cent - that's what I'm looking for individually and collectively. It was a very disappointing result for us the other night.

The performance was very strong for 20 minutes but after the mistake we made it was nowhere near the level that I expect.

So yes, a reaction is what I've asked the players for since the last defeat and hopefully they can put that into practice at the weekend.

There is definitely a frustration but obviously each game and each scenario are different.

An Old Firm game at home is completely different from going to Kilmarnock on a different surface against a different challenge.

I'm not naive to think that just because we beat Celtic and performed at a very high level we're going to get that every single game.

But we do certainly need to improve in terms of being more consistent.

I've got confidence the team is capable of going anywhere and getting the right result. But the players have to go prove themselves.

What is important is that we react to the Kilmarnock game by getting back to winning ways with a good performance.''

Gerrard handed debuts to Defoe and Steven Davis against Steve Clarke's side but admits they are not guaranteed to start against Livi.

I'm sure the minutes they got on Wednesday will benefit them,'' he said.They haven't played much football of late.

I'll have to manage them in terms of their game time. They are here for the next six months not the next six games.

It's down to me to make sure I use them in the right way but what is a fact is that the recovery takes a wee bit longer if you've put in a shift on a plastic pitch.

That goes for everyone, not just them and that is on my mind at the moment.'

• superscoreboard