Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson were supposed to be the first choice centre-back pairing for Rangers during the current season.
But that has not been the case as the season has rolled along.
Nikola Katic made a number of first-team starts during the first couple of months of the season but now he has fallen down the pecking order under Steven Gerrard.
The defender has made only eight appearances for Rangers in the Premiership this season and there have been some rumours floating around that the manager is planning to offload him during the January transfer window.
Now though Steven Gerrard has come out to clear the air about Nikola Katic and his absence from the first XI.
Steven Gerrard said: “Niko came in and was excellent in the beginning.
“As we expected of a young boy learning his way, he was going to have that little dip in form, I always knew as a manager that I was going to have to pull him out at a certain point and protect him.
“He’ll come back stronger and improve and he’ll come back and help us again.”
The Gers boss has made it clear that he only wished to protect the centre-back so that he could be utilised for the whole length of the season.
While this statement may sound weird but it makes perfect sense given the number of defensive options that the Rangers manager currently had at his disposal.
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