Gerrard reveals reasoning behind controversial decision

Steven Gerrard has today confirmed Jordan Rossiter and Lee Wallace were excluded from the Europa League squad purely on a fitness level.

While holding midfielder Rossiter is back training and fit again, his diabolical lack of action the past two seasons (only ten appearances since signing from Liverpool) has left him very, very fragile and it is deemed too much on his recovery to expect him to take full part in the fixtures.

Gerrard said at his pre-Dundee presser:

“The reason they’re both not in the UEL squad is they’re coming off the back of playing very little football so it makes no sense to congest their game plan. There’s no way Lee Wallace or Rossiter would be able to play Saturday, Thursday Sunday for example– three games in seven days. We want to help them try and find a schedule that suits them too, at the moment. I think for the short term that will be one game a week for the moment.”

After we depressingly wrote Jordan Rossiter off some weeks ago following that UEL exclusion, we are extremely pleased to see that was short-lived and misguided. Gerrard is trying to find the best way to get good use out of Rossiter without pressuring him into European matches, and we support that.

We are, however, a little puzzled as to why Wallace and Rossiter were excluded on this reasoning but similarly injury-blighted Graham Dorrans is included in said squad. That one doesn’t quite add up, but whatever will be will be and we’re just glad to see Rossiter at the very least fit again.