THE Rangers players knew what was coming at Ibrox on Saturday. So did the punters and the Press.

As Steven Gerrard’s side trudged off the park after their goalless draw with St Johnstone, they would have been bracing themselves for something of a dressing room dressing down from their boss.

The full message that Gerrard delivered will remain behind closed doors, but the 38-year-old gave a taster of it when he conducted his post-match media duties.

As a player, Gerrard never shirked a challenge. As a boss, he has never tried to dodge a question. He is open and honest, sometimes brutally so, but what you see is what you get from Gerrard the man and the manager.

He won’t kick boots across the changing room or pin players up against the wall. But he will always call it as he sees it, no matter how tough the truth is to take at times.

“I probably prefer the one that sits in the middle who tries to get the man-management side of it right but is really honest and respectful to the players,” Gerrard said as he offered an insight into his approach away from the cameras and public eye.

“I don’t like the old-school way where you are throwing things around the dressing room, kicking things and pulling things off the wall. I don’t think that’s the right way.

“I also don’t believe in managers who are constantly praising players, telling them they are great and the next thing since sliced bread.

“That can be misleading as well. For me, it’s all about the balance. I have tried to build relationships with these players individually so that they trust me in terms of my feedback.

“I won’t mislead a player. I won’t tell them they were great if they were good. And I won’t tell someone they were horrific if they were OK.

“I will try to get it right. I prefer the balance to be right. When I was a player, I preferred the balance to be right with the manager. I was lucky because the majority of the managers I worked for had that balance right.”

As he pored over a lacklustre and uninspiring performance at the weekend, Gerrard claimed Rangers were short of leadership and insisted he was struggling to find any positives.

He has lavished praise when it has been merited and it is the inconsistency that his side show that will baffle Gerrard. It also hinders their chances of success this season.

Some players may not take to his forthright style, but it is the approach that took the Liverpool legend to the top of the game for club and country.

“It’s how I was brought up as a kid by my parents,” he said. “It’s the way I’ve been brought up at Liverpool.

“It’s to always be honest and truthful. See yourself when you’re reflecting on your own performances as a player. That’s how I always preferred it from a manager.

“I never wanted a manager to sugar coat me and try and take me up the wrong path or mislead me or lie even.

“I’d always prefer the truth, whether I’d played well or average or had a poor game. I think you can move on better when you know the truth about how you’ve done.

“If you haven’t played well and the manager tells you that you have then there’s a risk you can go into the next game feeling good about yourself and get a bit complacent from there.”

When Gerrard speaks, those around him listen. His messages are served to inspire rather than belittle, to criticise constructively rather single out a scapegoat.

The result was hugely frustrating and disappointing for Rangers. The manner of the performance irked Gerrard just as much.

“We have tried to instil standards here from the beginning of the season,” he said. “We have tried make Ibrox a place that’s very difficult to come as an opposition player or team.

“I just felt that the mentality wasn’t right. I didn’t see fight, I didn’t see desire, I didn’t see passion.

“At Ibrox, I saw a comfortable performance from us, a performance that wasn’t good enough to get us the outcome that we wanted.

“I don’t think we are at a level yet where we can just turn up and win, as we found out at the weekend. I was disappointed with the attitude and the mentality of the players.”

Having hammered home his message on Saturday and reaffirmed it in the days since, Gerrard will now look for a reaction when Rangers face Kilmarnock this evening.

The draw with St Johnstone was a considerable blow to the Light Blues’ Premiership title ambitions and Gerrard admitted on Tuesday morning that the Scottish Cup is now their most realistic chance of silverware in his first season at Ibrox.

It has been a campaign of many positives for Rangers and Gerrard, but only time will tell if there is to be a silverware lining this term.

“I can’t control people’s opinions at the end of the season and what people say,” Gerrard said.

“All I can control is my players and what we are trying to do and keep trying to take it forward to give us a better chance of success.

“We all know, as a Rangers player or manager or member of staff, you get judged on silverware. The expectation is huge here. The fans want success yesterday.

“We do as players and staff. But it’s not easy as well. You have to keep trying to learn and improve and work and fight and have the right mentality, that hunger that will get you it as quickly as possible.

“That’s the reason why at times I have to be truthful and honest with the players.

“Or brutal as you call it. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing my job.”