Lukaku is best striker I have played with but Alfredo’s a top finisher, the boy’s got great potential
Dorrans hails on-fire hitman Morelos as he reveals he’s loving life at Rangers
GRAHAM DORRANS has settled into Rangers as if he’s been there all his life.
Which he has in a sense, as this is the club he has supported since he was a boy.
That’s why he isn’t bothered about playing in a slightly different role from the one in which he built his reputation in England with West Brom and Norwich.
Dorrans was a dynamic, attacking midfield player but under Pedro Caixinha at Ibrox he is working in tandem with Ryan Jack in the engine room, keeping things steady while most of the team’s attacking threat is generated from the wide areas.
It worked a treat on Saturday as Rangers powered to a 4-1 win over Dundee that Dorrans believes is proof his team is building momentum after a shaky start to the season that saw five points dropped at home to Hibs and Hearts.
And while Dorrans is happy enough with his lot in the middle of the pitch he is excited about the impact young striker Alfredo Morelos has made in his first two months in Scottish football as his goals have helped his side get back on track.
After five games Gers trail leaders Celtic by only three points and confidence is building insists Dorrans.
He said: “We were building momentum at the start of the season with the friendlies we had then against Hibs and Hearts we played really well.
“In the Hibs game we got a man sent off. Against Hearts I thought we did enough to win but ultimately we didn’t.
“So it’s good to get a few results on the back of that and build momentum.
“I’m enjoying my role. It’s great. We work all week on what the gaffer wants us to do. We put in place his ideas. I want to play at this club so I’ll play any role I’m asked to do.
“Ryan’s been great. I saw him from afar when I was playing in England.
“But since I’ve come up I’ve been really impressed with him.
“He’s a comfortable footballer, can take the ball anywhere on the pitch, he’s good at passing and he gets about the park very well.”
Morelos’s double against Dundee took his tally to seven in five games and Dorrans believes the 21-year-old Colombian is hungry for more.
He added: “He has done great. It’s obviously difficult for the boys coming over here from different countries but they’ve all helped each other settle in and the British boys have helped them as well.
“They’re settling in as a group. Long may it continue. If he keeps scoring it will be great for us.
“He’s a strong boy. He is still young so he’s in the gym every day doing his work. He’s got a good physique about him and is strong on the ball.
“He’s a good finisher so hopefully he can continue and go on to better things for us.”
Dorrans has played with some top strikers and believes Romelu Lukaku, who scored 17 goals in 35 appearances for West Brom on loan from Chelsea as a kid, is the best he’s worked with. He’s not putting Morelos in that bracket but believes in the South American’s potential.
He added: “Probably Rom is the best I played with. He was young when I played with him but you could see then his strength, his power, his pace and his finishing was great.
“But Alfredo’s also a natural scorer. You can see it every day in training.
“He’s a good finisher and he’s practising it so hopefully he can continue that in the games we have coming up.”
His manager agreed. Caixinha said: “Alfredo has already scored five goals in the league and two more in the League Cup. “We know he is a powerful boy and he is one boy who is learning how to be professional at this level and at this massive club. “We need to give him the right tools in the right moment and everybody is committed to that situation. But the first one who is committed is Alfredo. “We need to give him one tool at a time and he is going to get there because he is a very brave boy and he is very competitive.” One of the players trying to stop Morelos on Saturday, Dundee defender Jack Hendry, agreed the Rangers striker is a handful. Hendry said: “He’s a good player and has good movement. In large spells we dealt with him well but you can see he plays at a high standard.
“He scored two goals so he took his chances and it was a good challenge against him.
“He’s nippy and not afraid to leave something on you as well so it was a good test against a player like that.”
Dorrans was also pleased to see £2million signing Carlos Pena finally show a little bit of what he has to offer with a good goal after coming off the bench at the weekend.
He added: “It takes people time to settle in. Al has hit the ground running. It might take Carlos a little bit longer but he’s got quality and he’s got his goal.
“Hopefully that will bring confidence out in him and he can continue to get goals for us.
“It ended up a comfortable win for us against Dundee. We started the game well. We maybe tailed off a little bit then we got the goal and it settled us a little bit.
“We could play a lot better than we did in the first half. Second half I thought we were comfortable and we controlled the game.”