Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Gerrard hails Morelos as striker bags double against Buddies at Ibrox
STEVEN Gerrard hailed Alfredo Morelos after revealing a pre-match pep talk sparked the Rangers striker back into life.
Morelos grabbed his first league goals of 2020 with a double in Rangers’ 3-0 win over St Mirren.
It was a much livelier display from the Colombian against the Buddies than he managed during Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.
The 23-year-old laboured through the Bay Arena clash and showed little to justify the club’s £20 million valuation.
Gerrard admitted after that display that the player’s head had been “turned” by interest from Lille, but he was fulsome in his praise after watching Morelos strike twice having also played a key role in Conor McCarthy’s first-half own goal.
“He certainly deserved the man of the match,” said the Rangers manager. “I thought his focus was really strong.
“He got a good assist and two goals and I thought his all-round play deserved those numbers.
“We spoke to the whole group about Thursday’s performance and how the all-round performance had to be better.
“I did have a private chat with Alfredo about his own performance. He acknowledged the fact that he could have been better.
“But he wasn’t the only one. I think as a group we could have been better on Thursday night.
“There was no fingerpointing individually but I do speak to the players and get a feel for what they are feeling. Alfredo was well aware that he needed to perform a little bit better.
“He certainly showed a great reaction today, though. From the first whistle until the end, it was a really strong Morelos performance.”