Steven Gerrard wants Rangers to 'take out' Celtic pain on Dundee
- Published
Steven Gerrard suffered his first defeat as Rangers manager in this month's Old Firm derby
Rangers players should "bottle the hurt" of their Old Firm derby defeat and "take it out on Dundee" this weekend, says manager Steven Gerrard.
The Ibrox club were outperformed in a 1-0 Celtic Park loss two weeks ago. It was Gerrard's first Glasgow derby and his first defeat in 13 games as boss.
He has urged his squad to produce a stirring reaction against the Scottish Premiership's bottom side on Saturday.
"The last thing you want is a couple of weeks to debrief," Gerrard said.
"After a setback you always want a game straight away to get it out your system.
"But the international break has given us time to breathe and relax after a really hectic schedule. We've had some really valuable time on the training pitch to go over some things we found from the Old Firm game.
"Good players don't like losing and what they do is go give the manager and fans a reaction."
Lassana Coulibaly will make his return from a thigh injury as Rangers host Neil McCann's Dees. The midfielder has been out since the Gers' win over St Mirren on 12 August.
Gerrard will be without Ryan Jack and Gareth McAuley, both whom have calf problems, but new signing Eros Grezda may feature off the bench.
After scoring six goals this term, striker Alfredo Morelos made his Colombia debut during the international hiatus - a 2-1 victory over Venezuela.
Gerrard says the 22-year-old "deserves a lot of congratulations" and has returned to his club "in great shape".
"It's a very tough squad to get into. They have some top forwards like Radamel Falcao, who spoke really highly about his application while he was away," the Ibrox boss said.
"I remember my first cap being alongside guys like Alan Shearer, Tony Adams and Gareth Southgate - that's gold dust when you're a young lad. You can watch them closely, how they live their lives off the pitch, what they do in training, the standards they set for themselves.
"We hope Alfredo has watched all those top players in the Colombia squad closely."