Steven Gerrard will not blame coronavirus for defeat

STEVEN GERRARD refused to use the coronavirus panic as an excuse after Rangers were left staring at a Europa League exit.

The Ibrox boss admitted he had spent the day leading up to his side’s last-16 clash with Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen keeping track of the latest updates.

But he insists worries over the pandemic were not to blame after seeing Gers crash 3-1 at Ibrox.

He said: “I have been listening to a lot of noise today.

“Did I worry the game might not go ahead? Only this morning, speaking to Ross Wilson (Rangers’ sporting director) on my way in. We were waiting for the nod that everything was going to go ahead as normal.

Kai Havertz’s VAR-sanctioned penalty just before half-time and a second-half strike from Chile international Charles Aranguiz put Peter Bosz’s impressive outfit in charge.

George Edmundson’s header raised hopes Rangers could complete another remarkable rescue mission after fighting back from two down to stun Braga in the previous round, but they were snuffed out by Leon Bailey’s late effort.

It leaves the Ibrox men with a huge mountain to climb in next week’s closed-door clash at BayArena.

However, it remains to be seen if the Rhineland return will even go ahead, with all next week’s Uefa games postponed. 

Leverkusen chiefs are due to hold talks with local authority officials in the coming days, while UEFA bosses will hold a summit involving all 55 member nations to decide whether to continue with European competition.

Bosz repeated his call for the tournament to be shelved until the crisis passes, but Gerrard admits he is in no place to be making demands after seeing his side slump at home in Europe for the first time under his watch.

He said: “It seems as if a lot of people are making decisions as of now to cancel or alter the situation.

“At the moment, we’re told the game is going ahead behind closed doors, so we’ll do what we’re told and listen to Uefa and do what we need to do.

“I watched part of Man United today and it just didn’t feel right. Thankfully, the weekend Old Firm game is going ahead I’m told with the crowd there.