Gerrard felt his side's second-half display against Villarreal on Thursday was their best period of football since he took charge as the Light Blues twice fought back for a 2-2 Europa League draw.

But it took a half-time team talk and some more narrow escapes for his side to get going in Spain and Gerrard wants his players to be at it from the start on Sunday.

Gerrard told his players he wanted more from them following their 4-0 win over Dundee last weekend and St Johnstone visit Ibrox in better form than the bottom club given they sit level on eight points with their hosts.

When asked if he had seen his side at full pelt for 90 minutes, Gerrard said: "No, I'd love to see it though. I think it would be interesting and a good watch and the players are capable of doing it. It's just down to focus and concentration.

"Part of the job description here when I was sitting down with the board, the two words that kept coming out were ruthless and relentless.

"That's what I want my players to be like and that's probably the reason why I was slightly harsh on them after the game (against Dundee).

"I don't want us to settle for periods of the game where we are good, I want to really go for teams and if we get the opportunity and we smell blood, I want to go for teams."

Gerrard, who welcomes back Alfredo Morelos and Jon Flanagan from suspension, added: "It's down to the players mentally. If we have the right mentality and we do get off to a good start like Dundee, it's very important we stay on the gas.

"Football at this level can be ruthless. Maybe Dundee didn't have it in them to get back into the game but some teams if we decide to come off the gas, we might pay the price for it. That's the reason why I want us to always be on the gas as much as possible.

"St Johnstone are doing OK, they are doing good, and they have a good manager, they have a lot of energy in the team, they have a lot of midfield runners and they have a really good focal point in (Tony) Watt.

"So the threat will certainly be there against St Johnstone and if we're not at it, or we think we can turn up in second or third gear, we could face some problems."

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