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Dodds tells Alfie: Don’t let horror miss turn you into new van Vossen
BILLY DODDS can catalogue a list of Rangers careers that bit the dust after being forever branded for missing sitters against Celtic.
But the former Ibrox striker isn’t ready to consign Alfredo Morelos into the annals of history alongside hapless hitmen such as Peter van Vossen and Erik Bo Andersen.
Dodds has backed the Colombian to put his late shocker during Sunday’s Old Firm defeat down to an occupational hazard despite it costing Graeme Murty’s men the chance to get the title race back up and running.
The 49-year-old hopes Morelos has already written off the moment his close-range shot rebounded off a post and into the arms of Hoops keeper Scott Bain rather than drowning in self-doubt.
He said: “What does Alfredo do? He either sinks or swims.
“Does he go into a shell and let it ruin his Rangers career?
“I don’t think he’s that type and I don’t think it will. If he allows it to affect him and his form goes off the boil then it’s a weakness which isn’t the mark of a top striker. He needs to be stronger than that and I’m convinced he is.
“My advice for him is to say we have all missed them.
“In the short term I don’t believe it will affect him, but long term? Only he will answer that question.
“Does he want to be a top Rangers player or does he become a van Vossen and this miss sticks with him?
“The Dutchman is an example of what can happen when it sticks. He was a decent Rangers player but he wasn’t great after his howler against Celtic.
“It’s a mentality thing which goes on in your head when these things happen and Morelos just needs to get on with it.
“It’s ruined players in the past, if Morelos isn’t strong then it could impact his entire Rangers career.
“But it’s a big question because it’s such a big game at such a vital moment.
“Players like Andersen also became crippled mentally after missing chances against Celtic and that’s the worry.”
Dodds doesn’t buy into the notion that Morelos is a repeat offender in front of goal during Old Firm encounters.
And he’s told the Light Blues to star to take encouragement from his last sitter of note which came at Ayr last month and was a followed by burying a half-chance moments later.
He said: “Every striker could compile a list of sitters they have missed, it’s a part of football and these things happen.
“Alfredo’s the latest to suffer and he’s gone with the wrong foot on Sunday. He’s had a go with his right when he should have used his left.
“This is a talking point because of the scale of the chance and because the result was a nail in the coffin for Rangers in the title race but Sunday can’t be allowed to define Morelos and his career with the club.
“He needs to think back to a sitter he missed against Ayr and then how he smashed home a chance which was much harder than the one he missed. I would look at how he handled that mentally.
“The way he got over that miss tells me he has a strong attitude.
“But Celtic aren’t Ayr. People speak about Morelos as missing sitters in the Old Firm game back in December but I don’t agree.
“I would have been delighted to get that header on target given the pace of the cross, he’s made a decent connection and it hit Craig Gordon’s foot.
“It was one of those things so it shouldn’t be built up that he’s having a nightmare against
Celtic. I didn’t class that as a miss, it’s certainly not in the same league as Sunday’s miss.
“He’s now being tagged as a player who’s had two glaring misses against Celtic and the concern is he starts doubting himself. He could be asking himself, ‘Can I score against them?’”
As a striker of renowned penalty-box instincts during his career, Dodds offers his own form of counsel for the South American by urging the 21-year-old not to go into hiding as he relived some of his own blunders in front of goal.
He said: “I remember missing an identical chance against Hearts years ago and to this day I still don’t know how I missed it.
“If anything it was closer than the Morelos chance, I only needed to stick it in the net but didn’t.
“I also missed a sitter against Galatasaray in the Champions League for Rangers and it’s another mystery how it didn’t go in.
“The ball was on the line and it just got stuck beneath my feet. The ball had been headed back to me and I completely missed it. “I couldn’t believe it and the ball was cleared but you don’t forget those moments. “I missed my fair share, believe me, but it never stopped me from going right back and trying to make amends. “I didn’t dwell on misses because I knew I couldn’t allow it to affect me as it can ruin you. “Morelos must look at the positives and look at the multi-million pound bids that were in for him because he’s a good player and a quality finisher. He can’t allow Sunday to beat him and I believe he’ll just keep playing the way he has.”
Dodds also ruled out any chance of Murty taking Morelos out of the firing line for this weekend’s clash at home to Kilmarnock as the striker’s value is far greater than the sum of his scoring tally.
He said: “Morelos is far too important to the team to be left out as he stretches the game for Rangers and is crucial to what Murty is trying to do.
“That said, if his form dips and it continues then that’s different as there is so much competition in the striking roles now.
“Rangers fans will be looking at him now as it’s been such a glaring miss during a huge game.
“It’s not just a big game. As all Old Firm games are big, this was huge as it’s about what it could have meant for Rangers.
“What could be going through his head is that he’s cost Rangers the chance of getting back into the title race. But he’s a confident boy and can’t allow what happened on Sunday affect him.”