ALF WARNED NOT TO MISS OUT ON SEMI
BY GAVIN BERRY STEVEN GERRARD has challenged Alfredo Morelos to fire Rangers into an Old Firm Scottish Cup semi-final showdown next month.
But the Ibrox boss has warned the livewire striker not to let the fans down by doing it at the expense of a booking that would rule him out of the last-four tie.
Morelos will walk a suspension tightrope in tonight’s quarter-final replay against Aberdeen as Gers aim to move a step closer to lifting a first major trophy in eight years.
The 28-goal Colombian was shown a yellow card, one of 16 as well as four reds this season, at the same stage of the Betfred Cup against Ayr United.
That ruled him out of the semi-final defeat against Aberdeen and Gerrard wants him to remember the pain of sitting in the stand when he faces the Dons.
Morelos was given a huge boost after new Colombia boss Carlos Queiroz named him in his squad for next week’s Kirin Cup clash against Japan and the friendly against South Korea.
Gerrard said: “What do the fans want to see from Alfredo’s performance? They want to see the best individual performance on the pitch, they want him to score, to be the match winner.
“But they also, come the final whistle, want to be in a semi-final with Alfredo available. He loves the supporters. That’s got to be in his thinking on Tuesday. It’s down to Alfredo to show he’s capable of going out and performing as well as he has been and keep his nose clean.
“That’s what the fans want and that’s what Alfredo will want to deliver. We won’t tell him to hold it back. He just needs to focus on the football and not get involved in other stuff.
“There was no one more frustrated in the last semi-final than Alfredo as he was sitting in the stand – not being able to help team-mates and the club he loves.
“It’s important Alfredo focuses on the game. We have to think about what’s right in front of us – not what could happen.
“Alfredo just needs to play fair and try and bring his ‘A’ game on to the pitch. He needs to be professional and disciplined and he’s capable of that.”
Meanwhile, Gerrard was tight-lipped on speculation Gers are poised to make a move for Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie, out of contract at the end of the season.
He said: “It’s all speculation. Every time I get my media briefing or clips, we are being linked with five or six different players.” RYAN JACK has never felt threatened on a football pitch in almost a decade as a senior player.
But for the Rangers midfielder the abuse he received in an Aberdeen city centre bar crossed the line.
The 27-year-old was subjected to a tirade of insults while out with wife Ashleigh and family late last year.
It came shortly after Jack had netted the Old Firm winner with Steven Gerrard’s squad given time off during the winter break.
Jack revealed the actions of a couple of idiots on return to his hometown resulted in him walking out of Union Street’s Soul Bar.
But it won’t stop him going back to the Granite City and doesn’t make him regret crossing the bitter divide to join the Light Blues from the Reds.
In fact Jack says the stick fires him up even more as he prepares to face his old club in tonight’s do-or-die Scottish Cup quarterfinal replay at Ibrox.
It comes after a spate of on-field incidents across Britain with James Tavernier attacked by a Hibs fan at Easter Road, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish punched in the Brum derby and Chris Smalling shoved at the Emirates Stadium.
Jack is disgusted with what he witnessed but for him the worst abuse came away from the pitch on what should have been a quiet night out.
Speaking for the first time about the incident he said: “I was out with my family as we had some time off and I went out for a couple of drinks and a couple of idiots turned up.
“We just finished our drinks and left. That was it. When it’s on the pitch and fans give you stick it’s fine but when people take it outside of football and you’re with your family and having a meal it’s a bit different.
“I can walk the streets of Aberdeen but you have to be sensible. I’m not going to be jumping about Aberdeen city centre on a Saturday night but it won’t stop me going back to see family and friends.
“The fact it’s an issue shows everyone is interested and still thinking about you and showing you a bit of love!
“It’s part of the game and you just have to accept it, that’s why I’m in the game.
“It spurs you on and makes you want to do better. The