Gerrard says there will "definitely be people leaving the football club".

The 23-year-old Docherty, who spent last season on loan to Shrewsbury Town, made the last of his five appearances this season in August.

"Maybe the best thing for him is to go play football - I can't stand in his way then," Gerrard said.

"Greg has done absolutely nothing wrong, so I have to be respectful for him and understand his situation.

"He has been absolutely magnificent with his professionalism and training really well - but in his position we've had Ryan Jack, who is arguably our player of the season."

Along with Docherty, who has only made 12 starts for Rangers since signing from Hamilton Academical in January 2018, Scotland forward Jamie Murphy, United States defender Matt Polster, Albania winger Eros Grezda and on-loan Leicester City midfielder Andy King have found themselves with limited game time.

"I won't give you any names right now because I need to respect the individuals," Gerrard replied when asked about possible January departures. "But the squad is too big and we want to try to trim that ahead of the second half of the season.

"Some players are doing nothing wrong at all. In fact, some are doing more than enough to be recognised and put in. Unfortunately, we can only put in 11 or pick 18 in the squad."