Gerrard says pair will rue party breach
STEVEN GERRARD believes Jordan Jones and George Edmundson will regret their Covid rule breaches for ‘ quite some time’ after breaking his silence on the disgraced Ibrox duo.
Jones and Edmundson have been suspended by Rangers pending an internal investigation after they attended a house party in Glasgow on Sunday night and flouted Government and club coronavirus regulations.
Both players are now fighting to save their Ibrox careers as a result of their actions and could face further punishment from the Scottish FA as Hampden chiefs launch their own probe.
Jones and Edmundson will spend 14 days in self- isolation on the orders of Rangers doctor Mark Waller and manager Gerrard has now addressed the behaviour of two members of his Ibrox squad.
He said:
“Obviously really
disappointed. I think everyone at the football club is disappointed with the actions of the two players.
“I think it was important that the club took decisive action, they were very quick to do that, which was pleasing to see.
“The players know that they have let themselves down, and their families. They have also badly let their team- mates down and the supporters of the club.
“They will be punished internally and dealt with internally. I think the important thing from my point of view is that we draw a line under that.
“I don’t want to be sitting here and kick them even more. They are feeling really down at the minute, they are apologetic, they are remorseful, they are full of regret and I think they will regret it for quite some time.
“They have been suspended in the short term and we have spoken to the players since the events and the next time we will speak to them is when they come off suspension after an isolation period.
“They have made a bad, bad error of judgement and I think they are going to regret it for some time. It is a building process now for both of those players moving forward.”
Rangers confirmed the rule breaches and suspension of Jones and Edmundson on Monday morning as Managing Director Stewart Robertson insisted the Ibrox board would ‘ not tolerate’ the behaviour of both players.
The news of their reckless actions came just hours after Gerrard’s side had extended their advantage over Celtic to nine points at the top of the Premiership thanks to a 1- 0 victory over Kilmarnock.
Neither Jones or Edmundson were involved in the victory.
Captain James Tavernier scored the only goal of the game as Rangers continued their unbeaten start to the campaign ahead of the Europa League clash with Benfica on Thursday evening.
And Gerrard will speak to his skipper and key dressing room figures to ensure the focus is on the job in hand despite Jones and Edmundson’s actions.
Gerrard told RangersTV: “Now, for me, it is important that we focus back on the football. The team and the squad are in a fantastic place, playing well.
“The players at the weekend put in a fantastic performance and the headlines after that game should have been of positivity and praise of individuals and the collective effort they gave in that game.
“Two players have taken those headlines and praise away from the team and the squad and the media is littered with negativity now.
“Moving forward we need to forget about this and focus on
Benfica, which will be a very tough game and then we will go on from there.
“I have not had a chance yet to speak to James or the leadership group. I will be catching up with them very soon and we will obviously speak about it and then decide what to do from there.
“As I say, it is an internal situation now that the club will deal with. The players are going to have to take their medicine and take their punishment like men.
“And I am sure, at some point, they are going to have to give their team- mates an explanation. And then we will obviously focus back on the football.”
positive from the situation, although it’s very difficult to say it’s a good thing.
“Only Stuart had the virus and no one else caught it, so hopefully we did contain it well and it’s not going to be an issue this time.
“More than the distance between them, I think it was the amount of time they spent in the same room as Stuart which posed the issue with that one.
“We will look at every protocol, but I leave that side of things to the Doctor and Graeme Jones who are very, very good at their jobs. I will be lead by them on that.”
Meanwhile, Clarke is confident Leigh Griffiths can have an important part to play for Scotland despite concerns over his match sharpness this term.
The striker has made just five appearances for Celtic so far this season but scored in the win over St Johnstone and draw with Aberdeen.
He said: “It’s important that I can pick all the players I can pick before.
“But it’s obviously a bonus that I can pick people of the quality of Leigh Griffiths, Craig Gordon and Grant Hanley. That gives us a little bit more depth.
“What Leigh gives us is quality inside the 18 yard box. He’s obviously not fully match fit because he’s starting almost every game for Celtic in the bench. But then he’s also shown that he can come on and be a threat in the opposition box.”