SHANKS GIVING

BARRY FERGUSON

in England linked with him the question is whether he could reproduce his goalscoring exploits at a higher level.

But we’ll never know until the 23-year-old actually tries it.

One thing I will say is I admire Shankland for dropping down a few levels after he had a difficult time at Aberdeen. And after scoring for fun in the third tier he has maintained that in a difficult Championship. for other players to step up to the plate and ease the burden on Morelos.

Gerrard’s side can’t improve much on their performance against Hibs.

But they missed that killer instinct in front of goal and it’s a bit worrying it has happened in a few games now.

You need a midfielder scoring up to a dozen goals a season or a central defender netting five or six. Scott Arfield will come up with a few and it’s a worry he went off injured in the 0-0 at Easter Road. To be fair they should have had a penalty when Mark Milligan moved his arm towards the ball to block a shot from Morelos late on.

I know Gerrard didn’t think so but if I was playing I’d certainly have been screaming at the referee for a spot-kick.

And Ryan Porteous was a lucky boy after his challenge on Lassana Coulibaly, which can only be described as rash and dangerous.

I have to say I’m a big admirer of the 19-year-old – he’s going to be a top centre-half and he’ll learn from that.

I’m sure it would have been a disappointed dressing room because Rangers were better than Hibs who were excellent in their 2-0 win over Celtic just three days earlier.

There’s still a lot more positives to come out of the game than negatives but it’s about getting that level of consistency.

Having set the standard they must show it in the three fixtures before the winter break because they’re right in the title mix.

That starts on Sunday with a trip to McDiarmid Park to face St Johnstone and we all know how much of a battle it is against Tommy Wright’s side.

Rangers will have to be right up for it. underdogs but can do some damage. We need to go out and prove to people how hard we’ve been working and how good we are.

“All of the boys needed to do better after the Rangers and Celtic games. It maybe took time for us to gel because there were a lot of new faces in the squad but we’re together now.”

Kennedy’s was the fourth spot-kick Saints have missed in their last five, although he was the only one of the four takers to see it cost the club.

But he said: “I hit a good penalty against Motherwell – right in the corner with pace. It was a good save.

“I hit it perfectly and it was better than my first this season which I scored in the 2-2 draw with Hearts.

“I’ll still put myself forward for the penalties because I’m a confident person. If I get the penalty again there will be no nerves and I will score the goal.

“However, I know all the boys will be trying to hit it if they’ve not had one yet.”

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