HUNGRY TO STEP
Missing Morelos won’t hurt us, insists Stewart
SUCH has been the importance of Alfredo Morelos to Rangers that you suspect James Tavernier was only partly joking with his Twitter post on Sunday evening.
A picture of the Ibrox captain leaping onto Morelos in celebration, hands on the Colombian’s shoulders, came accompanied by a caption that read: ‘He’s been carrying us all season.’
The grinning emoji and play on words added humour to the show of support from the captain after his team-mate’s red card at Fir Park earlier in the day. But it also disguised a serious point. With 27 goals this term, surely no individual player has been more profoundly linked to their club’s progression at home and in Europe than Morelos.
Now, however, Rangers must face a test without his talismanic input. The striker’s weekend disciplinary relapse means he will serve a one-match suspension when Steven Gerrard’s men tackle Hibs at Easter Road on Friday night.
Given that Celtic will open a five-point lead if they can win on the other side of Edinburgh tomorrow evening, this could be a very bad time for the Ibrox outfit to malfunction up front. The spotlight will be firmly trained on whether they can find the necessary potency without their inspirational No 20.
Greg Stewart is confident Rangers will not be found wanting. He sees numerous outlets who could spread the scoring burden, some of whom are positively itching for a chance.
Jermain Defoe is the obvious leading candidate. Without a start since last month, and without a goal since October, the 37-year-old will be eager to remind everyone that he has lost not a shred of those finely-honed scoring instincts.
Stewart also hopes he might figure in the mix. The former Kilmarnock and Aberdeen forward earned praise from his manager when stepping off the bench to net twice against Hearts at the start of this month.
Since then, however, his only involvement has been in the briefest of substitute cameos on Sunday. Stewart recognises that underlines the strength of the squad available to Gerrard, something he believes will be displayed in the absence of Morelos.
‘You obviously want your best players out there doing what they do best and Alfredo won’t be able to do that on Friday night,’ said Stewart.
‘But the squad is big enough to fall back on. We can only go and prove ourselves if we get a chance.
‘Alfredo has shown what he can do this season with his goals. Even his overall play has come on as well. He’s going to be a loss to the team but the squad is big enough that we can cope.
‘We all need to help the team by chipping in with goals and assists at the top end of the pitch. We can’t just rely on Alfredo and Jermain.
‘It’s something we spoke about at the start of the season. The rest of the boys had to chip in and they’ve done that. Ryan Jack has scored a few goals as well. He has been unbelievable. We’ve got a big squad for what’s to come. If something goes wrong or if the boys aren’t performing well, we are in a good place, I think.’
Gerrard’s decision to opt largely for continuity during a demanding phase of fixtures meant Stewart was not given an opportunity to follow up on his potent introduction against Hearts.
‘That’s how hard it is,’ added the 29-year-old, reflecting on the competition for places. ‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed not to play every game but you can only pick 11 players.
‘It’s just the way it goes. As a team and group, there is a good chemistry about the squad. We just need to keep on pushing.
‘I’ll just keep trying to play well in training and see what happens on Friday.
‘When you get a chance, you try and get in the manager’s mind to pick you for the next game.
‘But, as I said, the boys have been performing well in the last few games. It has been difficult to get in and the manager has not really changed much. It is just the way it is.’
While Stewart hopes to expend some pent-up energy in Leith, Morelos will be confined to a watching brief.
A first red card of this campaign came after he received a second booking from referee Don Robertson for gesturing towards Motherwell fans, some of whom responded by hurling missiles.
Stewart admits it was a needless way for Morelos to land a ban, but pointed to the radical improvement in his overall record following the five dismissals that pockmarked his previous season.
‘Nowadays, it is so difficult,’ said Stewart. ‘When you score a goal, your emotions are everywhere. It is an unbelievable feeling.
‘When you get a bit of stick during the game and then you score and give a little bit back, it is the player who gets punished.
‘But, look, he shouldn’t have done what he did. That’s it. He was already on a yellow card, which didn’t help.
‘His discipline is a lot better than last season. He will learn from it and that’s all he can do.
‘He plays on the edge and he can be at his best when he is on the edge. When he tips over the edge, the team gets punished for it but this season he has been unbelievable — even that side of him as well.
‘He will be disappointed with Sunday but he will learn from it again. He is still young.
‘He was disappointed after the game because he didn’t mean to get sent off or do what he did. It’s just the emotions of the game.’