Steven Gerrard: Rangers boss says some players did not take chance to impress

Steven Gerrard's side return to action against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup on Friday

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard warned some of his fringe players had "pushed themselves further away" from his plans after a 6-1 friendly win over Lokomotiv Tashkent in Dubai.

Gerrard fielded 24 players against the champions of Uzbekistan to round off a winter training camp.

Allan McGregor and Alfredo Morelos were the only senior squad members not involved.

"I thought both halves there were a lot of positives," Gerrard told RangersTV.

"I was more pleased with the second-half performance, the shape.

"It's funny football, because some people grab opportunities and some people probably push themselves further away and that's what happened today."

Jermain Defoe and Sheyi Ojo scored in the first half, while Steven Davis and James Tavernier were also on target before a late double from Greg Stewart.

"We asked them to show what we have been working on all week," added Gerrard.

"There have probably been three aspects we have been working on - our organisation, out of possession and then what we do when we regain the ball, which is to play at a speed that makes it really uncomfortable for the opposition.

"The idea behind it was to finish off our tough week, where the lads have worked ever so hard and their legs are heavy. It was a mini pre-season if you like, a lot of running and hard physical work.

"And then we wanted to give them a game so we could share 45 minutes between them to knock the cobwebs off and get ready for Stranraer (in the Scottish Cup) next week."