Rangers won Premiership title by 25 points from rivals Celtic last season; Ibrox club's 55th top-flight league title was their first since 2010/11; Steven Gerrard's side begin title defence against Livingston - live only on Sky Sports on July 31
Monday 28 June 2021 12:49, UK
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has called on his title-winning squad to defend their Scottish Premiership crown 'with our lives'.
The squad returned for pre-season training on Monday, less than seven weeks on from being presented with the club's 55th top-flight trophy following a record-breaking season.
The champions will start their new campaign against Livingston on July 31, live on Sky Sports Football, with Gerrard also eyeing domestic cup success and progress in the Champions League.
"I feel really optimistic and excited about the future at Rangers," Gerrard told Rangers' official souvenir magazine.
"I want us to defend this championship with our lives and also attack 2021/22 with everything we have got, with hopefully all our fans back at Ibrox and at away games if the coronavirus restrictions allow for that.
"But for me, that is what being at this club is all about - it is about success, trophies and keeping that hunger and consistency moving forward.
"That hunger is either in you or it is not and I think the day when I don't feel it is in me is the day I won't get involved in football or I'll call it a day.
"It goes without saying that we have missed our supporters massively and, while we want to build on our recent league success for them, we also want to improve and go further in the domestic cup competitions while striving to be better in Europe.
"So there is much to play for next season and with new faces in our squad there is no reason why we can't go into it with great optimism, excitement and belief."
Rangers smashed the 100-point barrier, set a new clean sheet record, won all 18 matches at Ibrox and finished last season unbeaten in the league on the way to the title.
It was the club's first top-flight triumph since 2011 and ended Celtic's quest to clinch 10-in-a-row, an achievement that Gerrard says he will never forget.
"The pressure was on us to bring the title back to Ibrox for so many reasons," he said.
"Aside from the fact that our city rivals were aiming for a record number of successive titles, it had been a decade since Rangers were Scottish champions, which was far too long.
"As with every season, what was so important for us in 2020/21 was that we always looked ahead to the next game, never beyond that.
"At this club the demands and expectations are that you need to win week in week out, so not for one second can you take your eye off the ball.
"Over the past 12 months I think we, as a group, coped with the pressure very well and the players rose to the challenges put in front of them.
"When we beat St Mirren at Ibrox on March 6, a result which put us so close to getting over the line to become champions for the 55th time, every player and member of staff rightly enjoyed it and got lost in the moment - I did as well.
"The scenes at the stadium with the supporters will go to the grave with me, as will the celebrations at the training ground the next day when Celtic could only draw at Tannadice and we were officially crowned as champions.
"To finish the campaign with a 4-0 win over Aberdeen at home before we got our hands on the trophy was the icing on the cake and it was one of the best and proudest days of my football career."
