WE WON’T DECRY ALF
Defoe: Missing star is my pal and we’ll deal with it
Jermain Defoe last night vowed to keep faith with AWOL striker Alfredo Morelos – because he’s his friend.
The Colombian striker was dropped for yesterday’s Scottish Cup shambles at Tynecastle after reporting home a day late from a trip to Colombia.
And Rangers struggled for goals without their top marksman, crashing 1- 0 to Hearts to effectively end Steven Gerrard’s quest for silverware this term.
But strike partner Defoe was staying loyal to the Colombian and insists they would keep matters private in the dressing-room.
The former England striker was left hurting after the shock Cup KO but wasn’t about to dish out blame.
Especially to a character he’s grown close to in his time at Ibrox.
Defoe said: “It is a difficult one for me to sit here and talk about Alfredo.
“With something so personal, I just feel it is better to keep it in the dressing room.
“I am not going to sit here and criticise one of our players because, at the end of the day, he is my friend. I don’t think he would do that to me. “Away from all of
that, we were focused on the game and we came to Tynecastle confident from midweek.
“Alfredo didn’t play on Wednesday night and the performance was one of our best – especially away from home.
“It is not always easy to go somewhere like that in Europe, put in a performance and actually win.
“It is not one player’s fault. I don’t know what the manager said but I am not going to sit here and talk about one player or any individual because I don’t think it is fair.”
Defoe admits he can’t puzzle out why the heroes of Braga couldn’t repeat their form in Europe yesterday.
His team-mates put in a rock-solid display against Braga in midweek to advance to the Europa League last 16.
Defoe, who came off the bench in the quarter-final defeat, was left scratching his head at the performance.
But the Ibrox striker is certain that Gerrard is still the right man to take the club forward to success.
The manager revealed last night he’ll assess everything in the coming days –including his future at Ibrox.
But Defoe said: “Of course he’s the right man to take the club forward.
“To get to the last 16 in Europe is an unbelievable achievement. It is just a case of the team being consistent, which is probably the hardest thing to do in football.
“But the top teams do it game after game – being consistent and putting in those top performances.
“At times like Wednesday night you look at the team and think: “That’s a top team and a strong squad”.
‘Then we come here and let ourselves down. We let the manager down.
“It is easy when you win and everyone is together and buzzing.
“It is important now, as a group, that we stick together no matter what happens. That is all you can do.
“It is hard for me to say what the manager is thinking. But I can imagine how he is feeling because this is a club where you have to perform, win games and win trophies.
“That sort of pressure is the reality and that’s an opportunity gone to get our first trophy together so everyone is disappointed.
“It is the same for everyone in there. We will go away together, watch the game again then go from there.”
Defoe could do little from the bench with 25 minutes left as Rangers were left chasing the game after Oliver Bozanic had put Hearts in front.
They toi led to create clear- cut chances in front of goal and even Gerrard admitted that Daniel Stendel’s Stendel s side were worthy winners.
Defoe, who recently agreed to extend his stay at Ibrox beyond thiss season, admitted it’s a huge body blowow to the players who were desperateerate to finish the campaignaign with
a trophy.y. He said:
“It’s tough, just like last time we came to Tynecastle.
“It’s difficult to take because it was an opportunity to get a trophy in the dressing-room.
“So you can imagine what the atmosphere is like in there, especially after the result on Wednesday night.
“Everyone was so high and we came here confident. But that’s a massive disappointment.
“It’s hard for everyone involved. We feel the same as we did when we lost here last time.
“I watched the game on telly against Braga and the boys were so solid from back to front. But we didn’t get going against Hearts. We conceded a goal then we were chasing it.
“It’s always going to be difficult to score at that stage. None of the boys really know what to say now.
“We looked at it as a real chance to win a trophy together. Now it’s gone.
“I can’t put my finger on why this team can play so well in Europe than struggle domestically. Honestly, I can’t.
“We have to analyse it but it’s difficult to put your finger on one thing. It was a completely different performance.
“I’m not sure you can question our mentality because it’s not for the want of trying.
“I didn’t start against Hearts but the lads would have wanted to put in the same performance as in midweek.
“It’s di f f icult to understand why it hasn’t happened
this time.”