Defoe tips Morelos to stay and break Euro goal record
Veteran striker backing Colombian to overhaul Mccoist’s tally of 21 goals
Comparisons can be odious but Jermain Defoe knows they can also be inspirational.
While the veteran Rangers striker agrees with his manager Steven Gerrard that it’s far too soon to bracket his teammate Alfredo Morelos alongside the club’s greatest ever goalscorer Ally Mccoist, he hopes the Colombian international can continue to forge his own legend at Ibrox.
With his brace i n Thursday’s 5- 0 win over Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar, Morelos took his tally of European goals for Rangers to 20. He is now just one behind Mccoist’s all- time record haul and that record will be firmly in his sights when Rangers travel to face Dutch side Willem II in the third qualifying round next week.
Defoe, who made his own scoring return to action i n Gibraltar, can recall being likened to a goalscoring icon himself when he started his illustrious career at West Ham United 20 years ago.
“People used t o compare me t o I a n Wright when I was younger,” said Defoe. “It was strange, because I loved Wrighty as a kid, so when I was compared to him, it was a bit mad.
“He was somebody I looked up to, who paved the way and I wanted to get to that sort of level. I was confident enough and l ucky e nough when I signed for West Ham that they had Ian in the building. I just wanted to learn and I was like a sponge who just wanted to take everything in.
“I can understand the manager here not wanting to compare Alfredo to Super Al who is the legend. He has a long way to go, he’s still a young lad and I don’t think it’s fair on him if you compare him to Ally Mccoist.
“Ever yone knows Alfredo has potential, I’ve said it many times since I have been here, how much he has impressed me. I have been around a lot of young forwards in my career and Alfredo is someone who wants to score goals.
“He gets into the right areas, is aggressive and has that appetite and hunger that I love seeing. He is always going to score goals but t o get t hat European record would be unbelievable. The future is bright for Alfredo and hopefully he can score a few more goals for us here.”
Defoe underlined his longevity as a prolific front man with 17 goals for Rangers last season, finishing second in their scoring chart behind 29- goal Morelos.
There is fresh competition for places up front in Gerrard’s side following the signings of Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten this summer, a development wel c o med by 3 7- y e a r - o l d Defoe.
“I just feel that bringing in more forward options is only going to strengthen the team,” s a i d t h e f o r mer E n g l a n d striker.
“Last season, people were sending me stats and messages saying ‘ You and Alfredo, the amount of goals you’ve scored, compared to everyone in Europe, is unbelievable.’
“So last season we scored a lot of goals. But this season so far, we are scoring goals and keeping clean sheets, so credit to the boys at the back and the whole team. We defend from the front, do a lot of work on the training pitch. Bringing in the quality players we have is really exciting for everyone.”
Gerrard is likely to rotate his squad again for tomorrow’s Premiership match against Hibs at Easter Road, having made six changes in Gibraltar, with the likes of Ryan Kent and Steven Davis set to return.
“The s quad i s def i ni t e l y stronger,” added Defoe. “We’ve got players who understand what it takes to play for Rangers, under that sort of pressure.
“E v e r y g a me y o u p l a y, domestically or in Europe, no matter who you are playing, you have to put in a top performance.
“That’s something the manager demands. Your own personal performances have to be at the top level, in training as well as in games.
“It’s also good for competition, knowing you have to train well every day and take every opportunity you get, because there’s someone else who can come in and take your spot. It will be difficult to get back into the team if they do well.”
try not to concede – that’s the most important thing with these kind of games
“Obviously they’ll have a lot of the ball. And I think you’ve just got to defend your box as hard as possible but then sometimes you go to press high, and then the next aspect is to try and score a goal.”
But given the ratio of wins to losses in those head to heads, he says there was never a game he went into in a negative mindset.
“As a football player, you have got to believe that you can win any game, it doesn’t matter who you play against. Obviously, some games are harder and some games are easier but you can’t go with a mentality that you’re going to lose. You just might as well not even turn up then.”
The next two games, against the two teams sitting above them in the standings, are huge and Hibs go into them with a point to prove. The biggest test so far came against Aberdeen and although they lost that day, Hibs were without the influential Cypriot, who was sidelined by a false positive coronavirus test.
“We’ve star ted ver y well this season and I think he’s [ Jack Ross] right to say we
must have a go,” added Gogic. “I think we must have a go at any team. At Hamilton it was a more defensive setup but we always went out to try and get something out of the game so it is still much the same really, but obviously, maybe attacking- wise we might have the ball more than we did with Hamilton.”
While Rangers have yet to concede a goal on domestic duty, the Edinburgh side are bolstered by their own defensive record, having denied all- comers from open play this term. “I think this will be a good indication of the progress we’ve made,” claims Ross. “The point totals and results to date would suggest we are making good progress b u t i t ’s a n o t h e r s t e p u p against a team that you would expect to be hard opposition. It’s an exciting one for us.
“I look at my squad and the frequency in which some of these players have played against them and the l evel they’ve played at, I’ve got i nternational players and players who have played at a good level, I think they believe they can win the game.”
Jamie Murphy is ineligible to play against his parent club.