STEVEN GERRARD insists he won’t write off his Ibrox squad as he backs his key men to prove they have what it takes to be successful.

Rangers are set to end the campaign empty-handed once again after they blew their final realistic chance of silverware by losing to Hearts in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

Boss Gerrard has found himself under the spotlight as the season has unravelled and questions have been raised about the quality and mentality of many of the players he has brought to Ibrox over his two terms.

Gerrard said: “When you play for Rangers it doesn’t matter how long your contract is. You’re permanently on trial because of the expectations and standards expected of you.

“You’re on trial in front of the fans in every game, so I don’t need to add anything to that.

“After defeats and setbacks and maybe at this stage of the season we haven’t got out of it what we expected – of course, that’s highlighted even more.

“But I wouldn’t give up on all the players because some people have gone above and beyond. There’s a lot of trusted people in that dressing room who I still believe are the right people to take us forward. It doesn’t feel like that now because a lot of them didn’t play well at the weekend, but that’s life.

"You’re going to have those days, but it’s not time to give up on this group. It’s time to push them harder, to give them help and support to improve and be better for the challenge in front of us. That’s what it’s about now.”

Rangers return to Premiership action when they host Hamilton this evening but the 12 point gap to Celtic will prove insurmountable .

The European tie with Bayer Leverkusen is all that is left to play for and Gerrard knows performances must improve.

He said: “I think we have a dressing room that all want to get to the same place. We always knew it was going to be tough and a journey that was going to take some real twists and turns and have some high and low points.

“Unfortunately now we are speaking after a real low in terms of Hearts. That was an opportunity in all our eyes to go all the way to the final and do a lot better.

“So we are all feeling a bit raw and disappointed at the moment. But I have had fantastic support from supporters and the board since day one.

“The players need that now to get back into a better place than where we are at right now. It’s a real head scratcher right now because, in the space of seven days, I have probably seen the best Rangers performance since I came here. Followed by one of the worst.

“It has been really tough to pick the bones out of that. There might be different reasons but the reality is that we need to react now. It is what it is. It’s important to focus now on what’s coming up in the future and the short-term is six games before the international break.

“We all need to fight and push and roll our sleeves up. The supporters deserve that more than anyone. It’s not important them supporting me.

"We need to support them now by putting in performances over the next six games which make them feel better.”