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Ibrox View: Gerrard could lead Rangers to earning January cash boost this week
Steven Gerrard is preparing his Rangers side for their final Europa League group stage game on Thursday night against Lech Poznan.
As we head into the final round of fixtures, top spot in the group remains up for grabs with both Rangers and Benfica tied on 11 points after five games.
Both teams have already qualified for the next round and with one eye on domestic matters, either manager might be tempted to make wholesale changes.
Rangers are currently 13 points ahead of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, while Benfica trail Sporting by two points in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
However, for Rangers, there could be a huge cash incentive to go out and win the group when you take a closer look at the difference in potential prize money.
Money in the bank for January
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According to Sportekz, during the 2020/21 Europa League campaign, the group winners will receive just over £904,000 for their efforts. Compare that to second place, your prize money drops to roughly £453,000.
For Benfica, who, as per Transfermarkt, spent a whopping £86.85million overhauling their squad in the summer, you could argue that figure may have less of an impact.
The same cannot be said for Gerrard and Rangers, who currently lead the way in the Scottish Premiership and have their sights firmly set on stopping rivals Celtic winning 10-in-a-row.
Gerrard himself has already spoken of the importance of continually improving the squad and that extra half a million in the bank could be the difference between bringing in one or perhaps two players into the club during the new year.
The Gers have enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign and it is important they avoid resting on their laurels.
The former England and Liverpool midfielder has done a great job this season and deserves the chance to reinvest that money to ensure his side continue on this upward trajectory.
In other Rangers news, These Rangers fans all saying same thing ahead of Europa clash v Lech Poznan