STEVEN GERRARD has backed Ovie Ejaria to go from strength to strength at Ibrox.

The midfielder turned in his best performance for Rangers in the Europa League win over Ufa on Thursday evening.

Ejaria has frustrated Gers fans at times this term as he looks to get up to speed in Scotland.

But Gerrard has no doubt that the 20-year-old can be a key creative force for the Light Blues.

He said: “I thought that was his strongest 90 minutes for us. He is a London boy and coming up here as a young lad and into a new environment and city, we knew it was going to take time for him to settle.

“I think he is settling now into the dressing room, the lads are helping him a lot. I thought he was fantastic in terms of his performance.

“But I was also really proud of the two performances before because they weren’t typical Ejaria performances where he is on the ball, running the game and controlling the game. He dug in and he played like a man.

“I have always said to Ovie that nobody will ever judge you in terms of technical ability because you have got more technical ability than anyone, than I ever had.

“But I think for him to keep progressing in his career, if we can add competing as a man in the middle of the pitch and doing the ugly stuff around the technique, he is going to be a fabulous player.

“He is the one who we want to try and open the door and get them on the edge of their seats.

“He is not going to get it right all the time but the fans need to get with him because they will entertain him.”