Motherwell 0-3 Rangers: Steven Gerrard praise for hat-trick hero Scott Arfield
- Published
Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield celebrates the first hat-trick of his career
Manager Steven Gerrard praised "very clever" Scott Arfield after the midfielder struck a hat-trick to sink Motherwell 3-0 at Fir Park.
The visitors' aggressive pressing forced errors for each goal, with Arfield, 30, grabbing the first treble of his career.
"We were certainly very clinical in front of goal," said Gerrard.
"Scott's finishes were all excellent in different ways but I'm more pleased with the all-round performance."
Arfield, now on 11 goals for the season, was played in a more advanced position, supporting striker Jermain Defoe, along with Daniel Candeias.
"You've got to give [Burnley boss] Sean Dyche the credit (for playing Arfield higher up the pitch)," said Gerrard. "I played against Scott many times when he played that narrow left-sided role for Burnley.
"He's very effective at it but he can do it from both sides. He's a very clever individual out on the pitch, he understands tactics and he understands where to be in and out of possession.
"He played the role very well from start to finish and he got his reward."
Motherwell, who had been looking for a record-equalling sixth successive home win, were undone by dreadful defending.
However, manager Stephen Robinson vowed to stick with the "risk versus reward" style of play that he has implemented in the second half of this season.
"It's frustrating because I thought we had large amounts of the play," he told BBC Scotland. "Ultimately, our decision-making cost us.
"It's a young squad and playing in the wrong areas cost us two goals in the first half. We have to learn from that.
"We've gone from being a team that was quite direct, putting a lot of balls into the box, and we're trying to change that. We won't rip that up after a couple of errors."