Gary McAllister stepped up to do Rangers press conference duties after Steven Gerrard failed to attend after being ruled out by Covid protocols.

Here's everything said by the assistant manager.

Gary, can you give us a timescale of how all this unfolded, the level of disrutption and when people might be back available?

GM: Things have been unfolding in the last few days, the immediate days. Obviously, we are adapting as we move along. Purely, we have arrived here in Armenia now and the focus turns to the job in hand. And then we get this game out of the way. Hopefully, we get the right result and proceed into the group stages. We can then turn our attention to the game at the weekend but we come here fully focused on getting the job done here.

In terms of the squad players who may now feature, how would you assess their levels of confidence and readiness?

GM: We have some youngsters that have come from the B team. They have impressed recently when they have come over and trained with the first team. We are confident that if we get in a nice position all of them can get on the pitch. That would be massive for them. It’s already a great experience for these younger guys to come and join the training today and the travelling. It’s probably a first for all of them but they are well capable and we are very confident in these young players.

With Steven, he’s not made the trip, how will communication work in the game?

GM: The messaging will remain the same, all the presentations remain the same. He will be joining us on video so all his messaging will definitely get over to the players. Michael Beale’s here so all the coaching aspects and the tactical awareness will be taken on board prior to the game. It will be reinforced by myself and the manager will speak prior to the game as well. So it will be constant contact with Steven. We are the lucky ones here who can affect the result and we have to try and get that for the guys back in the UK.

How confident are you that Robby McCrorie can produce a big performance?

GM: I actually did a piece recently about Robby. I’ve been impressed since day one of pre-season. He’s a young man who was pretty shy. A towering guy but very quiet. This season I have seen a different Robby. That’s been enhanced that he went out last season on loan at Livingston and gained some valuable experience in the Premiership in Scotland. The thing I’ve noticed is he’s become more confident around the first team players. More talkative and chatty. He’s a keeper that works like the keepers I played with, he’s a real workhorse and there’s just more confidence about him as a man. It’s nice to see that maturity, he’s coming out of his shell and maybe for the first time he’s thinking, ‘I belong here’.

How big are the leaders going to be in this game?

GM: Massive. There’s a word that we have used quite a lot recently and it’s the word ‘together’ and it’s that senior group of players who have got good experience. All players over their footballing career gather bad experiences but our guys have good experience. So we need them all to come to the fore. This is a time when we have to really come in close and be tight-knit and get the correct result.

How well prepared have you been for this eventuality, being hit hard in what is a very big week?

We have a strong squad with strength in depth. We have been hit. Not only have we been affected by Covid issues but we have been affected by suspensions. We have had some niggly injuries around some players. The start of the season has been hindered by that but all these little things look like excuses but these are things you have to adapt to. We have to utilise our squad. And players now in the team have to grasp the opportunity. Going back to being affected, I think most clubs have been affected. But we have been extremely diligent around our training ground I have got to say. The fact that it’s quite a big space. Everything has been done by people around the club. We just have to adapt now and take advantage of our big squad.

READ MORE: Covid-hit Rangers still more than good enough to dispose of Alashkert - Derek Clark

The four goalscorers from Ross County have travelled so does that give you firepower to take to the field tomorrow?

GM: Absolutely. When you see the team tomorrow you will look at it and think, ‘That team can play most games'. We have had some great times in Europe over the last few years and the team, we feel, is capable of going and getting a good result. We are capable of owning the ball and by that I mean keeping good possession. But we are capable of scoring goals as well. We have to be really on the front foot and looking to go and add to our advantage.

Is there a chance players who are self-isolating could be released back into the squad before Sunday?

GM: You have to be mindful of the fact that now we have moved on, and a lot of the people in and around our club have been double vaccinated, there are advantages, so we will be looking at that. Things are going to be changing as we speak.

Is that something you have looked into?

GM: I’m sure the medical people at our club are all over that. As we pass information to the governing bodies we will be getting guided by them as well.

What would it mean to the club to qualify once more for the group stage?

GM: For the club it’s massive. For the players it’s another chance to go on a journey on which all the players have really enjoyed. It’s something I have loved since coming back to Glasgow because the European nights under the floodlights at Ibrox are second to none. We want a wee bit more of that. That’s the carrot that’s dangling, that’s the incentive. There are some good teams in the Europa League and if we can get to the group stages there will be some nice ties to be had at Ibrox again.

What did you make of Alashkert?

GM: I thought they were quite brave in their approach. I think they tried to play. We had seen they were willing to play through the thirds when watching them and they did try to do that. They were successful on a few occasions but they never got through to the goalie. Looking at their strengths and weaknesses over the last few weeks since we had drawn them that we should be looking to score some goals. We really need to be really up on the front foot and make it difficult for them to get going. We need to do what we do well, controlling possession then look to be really sharp in the final third.