Steven Gerrard predicts Jermain Defoe will make it to 900 career appearances after he helps Rangers continue their title charge
Defoe #Defoe
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard hailed veteran striker Jermain Defoe for making his 800th career appearance in the 4-0 win over Ross County on Sunday – and backed him to add another century before he hangs up his boots.
Defoe scored his fourth goal in eight appearances for Rangers this season when he came off the bench to wrap up another Premiership victory for Gerrard’s side. The 38-year-old’s minutes on the pitch may be more limited in the current campaign but Gerrard has no doubts his former England team-mate will continue to make an important contribution.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he went on to make 900 appearances,” said Gerrard. “He’s in incredible shape and loves coming into work.
“He is still trying to learn and improve. He is ready at any given moment. You can see he is hungry to get on the pitch, you can tell by his performance he is still hungry to score goals.
“I thought Cedric Itten was magnificent in setting up Jermain’s goal. It’s a big help knowing you’ve got JD there to come and help kill teams off.
“He’ll start enough games this season and he’ll get enough cameos coming on. He is a big, important player for us moving forward.”
Rangers have now kept 14 clean sheets in 16 league games this season, a statistic which pleases Gerrard just as much as his captain James Tavernier’s remarkable tally of 16 goals and 12 assists.
“Our clean sheet record, to me, is just as important as James’ other numbers,” said Gerrard. “But where he is right now, he needs to bottle that form and stay there.”
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