Morelos can’t have his own rules at Rangers
Gerrard fails to motivate his players but spineless stars owe the boss more
LET down by one unruly individual who wasn’t there. Let down by another 14 who were.
Steven Gerrard described Tynecastle as his lowest point as Rangers manager.
So low, in fact, he went away from Gorgie admitting he needed to have a “serious think” about where he is with his team right now.
Gerrard was ashen-faced. He looked exasperated. As if he’d received a form of confirmation his messages aren’t getting through.
The Scouser has his faults. He’s made mistakes since he’s been in the job. But, boy, he is surely entitled to expect an awful lot more than was handed to him before and during this shattering loss.
Alfredo Morelos is the obvious first point of reference.
His self-imposed absences from Tynecastle twice this year have come at a huge cost to his team.
It is not good enough from Morelos. He’s been backed to the hilt at every turn by Gerrard and his team-mates.
What he delivered in return by coming home late from Colombia was a sickening slap in the face to them all. Gerrard gave him time off after he requested to deal with a family matter.
Morelos was told to be back for a certain day. It seems he just chose to ignore it and do what he wanted.
You can argue all you like about whether Gerrard cut off his nose to spite his face by dropping him or whether it’s his own fault for over-indulging the striker’s acts in the past to reach this point – but a line has to be drawn in the sand.
Gerrard has 20-odd other players in his dressing room who have to toe the line – Morelos can’t just have his own rules.
However, as much as Morelos let everyone at Rangers down by not being at Tynecastle, the ones who were there also have to have a long look in the mirror.
Gerrard said he didn’t recognise his team. He couldn’t even look at them after the game and spent his time post-match talking with his staff in a different room instead. That was an intriguing admission.
So too was to say he was desperate to win the game but didn’t get the same impression from his players.
That’s a damning indictment that has to give any manager serious cause for doubt. Quite a few people don’t agree with Gerrard’s management style. They have accused him of throwing players under the bus but the Rangers fans want the truth.
They don’t want waffle or manager speak bending the facts.
They pay their money and can see things for themselves.
Players though are different. They circle the wagons. Jermain Defoe sat in the same seat five minutes after Gerrard – and when asked about Morelos he used phrases such as, “With something so personal, I just feel that it is better to keep it in the dressing room” and “I’m not going to sit here and criticise one of our players because, at the end of the day, he’s my friend”. Supporters can draw their own conclusions on the differing approaches between manager and team-mate – but that’s not the same hymn sheet.
What’s not up for debate is that players are happy to have their backsides kissed when it’s going well and the boss is dishing out plaudits.
If they can’t handle a bit of stick from fans or their gaffer they shouldn’t be at Rangers.
Examples are there. Gerrard salivated over Ryan Kent post-Braga.
He stood up for him, said he got unfair criticism and the winger’s payback was to do nothing at Tynecastle when he needed to step forward. George Edmundson was heralded by his boss for being a rock in Portugal. In Gorgie? He was all over the shop. Got away with a blatant handball in his own box before halftime, made a farcical attempt at a clearance to present Steven Naismith with a chance he should have taken for 2-0 and then missed two absolute snips with headers at the other end to force a replay.
That’s not singling those two out. It wasn’t just them. There were failures all over the park in Light Blue. The winning Hearts goal summed it up.
James Tavernier botching a defensive header and keeper Allan McGregor wandering into no-man’s land making it an easy job for kid
Lewis Moore to round him and produce a cutback that Oli Bozanic slammed into the net.
Gerrard called it his responsibility. That’s correct. It’s his team and it’s his job to motivate them. Even so the manager is entitled to expect more than the spineless effort he got.
Within 10 minutes it was crystal clear Hearts were turning the tie into a scrap and everyone knew Rangers were in trouble as that’s the type of mentality test they’ve been failing.
Gerrard was determined to call it straight. He refused to have a go at referee Stevie McLean for not sending off Loic Damour for a deliberate handball into the net when already on a booking. Not only was that a shrewd call because it actually came from a corner the whistler awarded instead of giving a blatant penalty for the Edmundson handball but it also showed Gerrard was fully alert post-match.
He knew everything he was saying. Emotions were raw and the pain was stabbing but there was clarity in his talk, especially when he confessed that two seasons without a trophy was “not what I am about”.
Gerrard was let down by players again. At the same time, he signed most of them at no little cost. This is his problem too. No wonder he headed away from Tynecastle to have that serious think. The Europa League progress has been brilliant. The last-16 tie with Bayer Leverkusen will bring both glamour and finance. But the bottom line is Rangers will not win that competition. So, effectively, this result means their season was over before the calendars turned out of February. And no matter who is to blame for the latest disaster that, in the words of Gerrard himself, is simply not good enough from a Rangers team or manager.