Lassana Coulibaly Returns. (Press conference recap)

A quick recap of Steven Gerrard’s recap ahead of the match against Dundee

We are back and ready for football. Steven Gerrard had his press conference, let’s get a quick recap of the important bits.

Injury stuffs:

The big news is that Lassana Coulibaly will be making his return after missing the last several games. His return should be a welcome addition back to the midfield with his aggressive and athletic brand of play.

In bad news, both midfielder Ryan Jack and defender Gareth McAuley returned from international duty with what Gerrard only described as a “calf issue” and neither player is expected to be playing against Dundee. Missing Jack will make Coulibaly’s return even more important as Jack is Rangers’ best option in a more defensive oriented midfielder.

McAuley is not likely to be an every-game player given his age so his loss should be less of an issue. However, Gerrard said that the North Irishman’s absence will be a blow. As such it is fair to say that Gerrard had been hoping to get McAuley at least some time in this game. As it stands, it is very likely that both Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic continue their streak of playing every minute of league play.

The McGregor situation:

One of the reporters made repeated attempts to get Gerrard to comment on the kicking incident with Allan McGregor and the lack of punishment. Gerrard did not raise to the bait and said he is “not here to talk about the refs.”

Players coming back from international duty:

Gerrard mostly said the expected coach-speak about hoping guys come back refreshed and improved. Nothing really worth noting.

Dundee:

With regards to the upcoming opponent. Gerrard stated that he believes Dundee plays a nice style (which is not untrue) and that he feels that they are better than their current standing. He specifically brought up their game against St. Mirren as a game that they were the better team but still lost.

All in all there was nothing that big here to glean. The biggest news is that Coulibaly is returning but that was mostly known already.