JOE ARIBO reckons he is reaping the rewards of Steven Gerrard's words of wisdom this term after being urged to be more aggressive in the middle of the park.
The Nigerian internationalist produced arguably his finest performance of the season on Thursday night as Rangers kick-started their Europa League campaign with victory over Brondby.
Boss Gerrard was fulsome in his praise for Aribo in the aftermath of the 2-0 Ibrox win and attentions have now turned to the trip to face St Mirren on Sunday.
Aribo will be a key part of the Rangers line-up for the Premiership clash and is eager to continue putting Gerrard's words into action at home and abroad this term.
Aribo said: “The one thing the gaffer always says to me is that I’m one of the rule breakers in the team.
“He tells me to carry the ball up to defences and try to unlock them. It’s quite similar to my role at Charlton.
“It felt very good [against Brondby]. We knew how important the result was. We needed it to kick-start our European campaign.
“So we just knew how important it was. Its was a really nice feeling being out there.
“It’s up there with one of the best performances this season. Hopefully we can just keep that going and push on from here.
"I think we get the word aggression wrong. It’s just in terms of me being ruthless and believing in myself, backing myself, more than anything.
"It’s like I’m not thinking too much or I’m not being too safe or too nice on the ball.
"It’s like being spiteful in my game. That’s what he means by aggression.
"I think shooting and playing forward, trying to play killer passes - that’s what impacts games.
"Passing sideways doesn’t really affect the game. So many players can do that.
"It’s just being spiteful in the final third, being ruthless and taking any chance or opportunity that you can get."
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