STEVEN GERRARD was scathing of Rangers' efforts at both ends of the park as the champions suffered their first defeat of pre-season against Tranmere Rovers.

A long-range strike from Kieron Morris was all that separated the sides on Saturday but Rangers were profligate in front of goal as a series of openings and opportunities ultimately came to nothing.

Gerrard handed a debut to John Lundstram following his arrival from Sheffield United, while Ryan Kent got his first 45 minutes of the campaign as he came off the bench at the break.

It was a largely lacklustre showing from Rangers and Gerrard pulled no punches in his assessment of the performance as Micky Mellon's side emerged victorious at Prenton Park.

"Obviously not happy with the result," Gerrard told RangersTV. "I think there were large pockets of control, you could clearly see our style.

"But, over the 90 minutes, in the final third it is nowhere near good enough for a Rangers standard.

"I have to take into consideration it is our second game and we are coming into the game fatigued, but the level of players we have got here today, I expect us to create more and certainly get a couple of goals in each half.

"Disappointed in the result, quite frustrated with our final third play, but really happy with pockets and how certain individuals are going about their business.

"There were another eight positives to take from today, and they are not here with us. It will all work itself out.

"We had a double session 48 hours ago, we travelled down here, so we expect the lads to be a little bit leggy, a little bit goal shy at certain times.

"But I wasn’t happy with the level of quality in the final third, our crosses from the sides weren’t good enough.

"We had one or two decent deliveries. Our creation, we had a couple of really good 2v1 moments where we could have been better.

"The goal we conceded is embarrassing from our level and how we were last year. People jumping out of the way of tackles, people being soft and weak. I can’t tolerate that.

"As we move along, we will get stronger, we will get better and it will be a better level of performance.

"It is quite frustrating to lose the game but, big picture, the result is not important at the moment. But the takeaway is where we have to improve, certainly in the final third."