STEVEN GERRARD was pleased to have the chance to give James Tavernier a rest as Rangers look ahead to a hectic few weeks at home and abroad.

The skipper gave his side the lead against Lincoln Red Imps as he fired home a free-kick from the edge of the box and the Light Blues would go on to record a comfortable 5-0 win.

Tavernier didn't reappear for the second half in Gibraltar and boss Gerrard told RangersTV: "It was just a rest for him. I gave Borna a bit of a blow at the weekend.

"That’s the reason why I went for young Nathan on the bench because I had an idea that we would get comfortable in the game and I could offload Tav.

"It’s very rare that I get the opportunity to do that. So as soon as the game was done at 2-0, I thought to get him off and give him a blow."