IBROX DUO HAVE A FINE BROMANCE:
Bond between Morelos and Defoe can bring silverware haul to Rangers
ALITTLE over 12 months since Umar Sadiq entered the footnotes of Rangers infamy at Hampden, Steven Gerrard’s side return to the national stadium with two strikers determined to be remembered for the right reasons.
As has become the norm, Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe are competing for the right to start tomorrow’s Betfred Cup semi-final against Hearts.
They have rarely been on the pitch at the same time, while amassing 31 goals between them this season, yet that has not prevented the formation of a ‘bromance’ that delights their manager.
This close friendship, with Defoe acting as mentor to the younger Colombian, is one Gerrard believes is very much to the benefit of Rangers’ trophy prospects.
Morelos was banned for last term’s meeting with Aberdeen at this stage of the Betfred Cup. With Kyle Lafferty ineligible, Gerrard was forced to pitch in Sadiq for his first start for the club. And his last. Rangers were toothless in a 1-0 defeat and the Nigerian’s loan spell from Roma was cut short two months later.
That exit created space for Defoe’s arrival in January. And his influence may well be one factor in Morelos improving a previously woeful disciplinary record.
Signs of harmony between the two have been increasingly obvious. Whether running in celebration to the other on the touchline, or exchanging high-fives during a substitution changeover, it’s clear they can share jokes as well as goals.
As it stands, Morelos has 18 of the latter, with Defoe on 13. So are they motivated by trying to match each other’s numbers?
‘No, I think they are driven on by the thought that they can both become heroes at Rangers if they continue to fire the team to success,’ countered Gerrard. ‘That’s the main goal.
‘They get on ever so well off the pitch, and on the pitch. They are both in a great place and I think the relationship is blossoming really well.
‘Alfredo was really close to Daniel Candeias when he was here. Daniel left and it was a small concern how he would react to that.
‘But it’s actually had the opposite effect. He has come out of his shell more and is mixing better with other people. He seems to be in a fantastic place.
‘I think Jermain has slid nicely into being that person that Daniel was — a shoulder for Alfredo and that close friend you need in the dressing room. It has been fascinating to watch it blossom.
‘I think you see them across the world. There are bromances there — your word, not mine! You need people you are tight with in the dressing room, of course you do.
‘It’s been fascinating because there’s an age difference, a culture difference. But they seem to be getting on ever so well. They both play the same position and both love scoring goals.
‘For Alfredo, Jermain is gold dust and he should be tapping into him at every opportunity.’
From the outside, it seemed there was a chance things might have worked out differently. That Morelos might have felt threatened by the arrival of such a renowned goalscorer and his occasional shift to the bench.
‘It’s about ultimate respect,’ stressed Gerrard. ‘I think Alfredo probably watched Jermain for many years.
‘He respects the career he’s had and respects that he’s still as hungry as he was when he set out.
‘I think Alfredo realises a club this size can’t be successful and function with one centre-forward. He’s coming around to the fact he needs to understand he can’t play every minute of every game and be at the top level.
‘We need more than one striker in great form if we want to have success together.
‘In terms of Jermain, he’s got no ego. He’s coming here to score goals and help the team.
‘That’s his priority but he also understands we’ve brought him in for a different role as well and that’s to mentor and to be there for the likes of Alfredo and help us drive the dressing room. That’s what Jermain is doing.’
Defoe had a little chuckle beside Gerrard when Morelos’ expression made clear his initial displeasure at being replaced — when chasing a hat-trick — during the 4-0 midweek win over Ross County.
‘It was the most predictable reaction ever in football,’ grinned Gerrard. ‘I get it every time. You don’t want to see your centre-forward smiling and sprinting to get off. So I loved Alfredo’s reaction but it was so predictable.’
That relentless hunger for goals creates a potency that should be very different to Sadiq’s cumbersome efforts at Hampden last October.
‘That was a year ago,’ said Gerrard. ‘We have two centre-forwards who are happy and enjoying their football.
‘Both are looking incredibly sharp. That is a much better place to be in as far as I’m concerned.’
Supportive bonds such as the one between Morelos and Defoe also help to make Gerrard’s job a little simpler. He speaks of a squad that, so far this season, has been ‘low maintenance’.
‘It’s pretty simple, really,’ explained the Ibrox boss. ‘When we came in, we said we wanted this to be a really enjoyable environment,
a learning environment where you skip into work and enjoy training and enjoy being together.
‘The players are really buying into the fact that when they have to listen and we’re preparing for big games, it is work. There’s no fun, it’s serious.
‘But around that, we want it to be an enjoyable place. My door is always open, not just to the first-team players but to everyone in the building. I want it to be all as one. I want to connect the whole club. That’s the way I like to work. That’s the way I liked my managers to work for me.
‘The majority of my managers did that. Brendan (Rodgers) was really good and strong at that. His door was always open... a great man-manager.
‘All the managers were there for me, whether it be a football issue or a family issue. I have values as a person before I’m the Rangers manager and it’s always family first and then work second. That’s the way I will always be.’