Morelos can be the match-winner in any game you care to mention as Rangers close in on the title
Former Ibrox hit-man, ROD WALLACE welcomees El Bufalo getting back among the goals and believes he has a key role to play
Rod Wallace has watched the likes of James Tavernier, Kemar Roofe, Ryan Kent and Allan Mcgregor excel for Rangers this season.
Last Sunday, Alfredo Morelos – a shadow of himself for much of the season – was back in the headlines, with his two-goal salvo earning his side another three points on their march towards the Premiership title.
One of the Colombian’s predecessors as a Light Blues hitman, Wallace now expects Morelos to kick on to again be the name on everyone’s lips as we approach the business end of the season.
The Englishman knows “El Bufalo” has looked subdued in certain fixtures this season, and hasn’t always been a first-choice pick for Steven Gerrard.
However, with the smashing of Celtic’s 10-in-a-row bid now within touching distance, Wallace expects every player to be firing on all cylinders, and desperate to impress Gerrard and the coaching staff.
The man who scored the winning goal in the 1999 Scottish Cup Final against Celtic to clinch the Treble told The Sunday Post: “Alfredo Morelos is a quality striker.
“When you look at the way he took both of his goals at Pittodrie, it was centre-forward play of the highest quality.
“He also won the penalty-kick
Alfredo is a winner. You can see his hunger and desire, and he will be desperate for some winners’ medals
award that led to the red card for Ryan Hedges.
“The thing for Alfredo now will be to keep scoring.
“From what I gather, he has been making a solid contribution most weeks. But his goal count (just six in 24 games before Pittodrie) hasn’t been as high as previous seasons.
“Now that he has had that taste of it again, he’ll want to keep it going.
“There is no doubt he has it in his locker to be the match-winner at Motherwell today – and also in just about any other game you care to mention.
“I’ve a feeling Alfredo will make a serious contribution in the coming weeks as Rangers edge ever closer to winning the title.
“When the prizes start to get handed out, it gives players a lift.
“They get an extra spring in their step, be it in training every day, or on a match day.
“Alfredo is a winner. You can see his hunger and desire.
“He will be desperate to get his hands on some winners’ medals, and he’ll want to do his bit in the coming weeks and months.”
Wallace, now 51, has also been impressed with Gerrard and his backroom staff during the current campaign.
A former Leeds United team-mate of Gary Mcallister’s in the 1990s, Wallace knows the Gers assistant boss well.
They played together when the Elland Road club clinched the English title at Sheffield United, with Wallace scoring one of his 11 league goals that season.
He is aware that Mcallister knows the game inside out, is good with people and is a calming influence.
Wallace said: “Gary is a Rangers man, and they’ve always been his team. So he’ll be delighted to be involved with the club.
“He’ll have been priceless for Steven since he arrived at Ibrox, and having Gary to lean on for advice and guidance will have been invaluable.
“Steven has also been impressive. This is his third season at the football club and he’s been fantastic.
“He has moulded a team, and the recruitment has been first-class.
“He will have learned year-onyear, and that’s an important aspect in any job.
“Last season would probably have been his biggest learning curve, because up until February, Rangers looked very well placed to win the title.
“We all know it didn’t go to plan after that.
“Steven was also two or three games away from winning the English Premier League with Liverpool seven years ago, and it didn’t get over the line.
“That’s why he will be taking nothing for granted this season. And he is quite right.
“But I think we all expect Rangers to win the Premiership. For me, it’s just a matter of time.
“Steven will make sure the players stay focused and concentrate 100% on every game, and take every 90 minutes on their own merits.
“Steven clearly knows his stuff, and it speaks volumes for him that he took the Rangers job when was just 37.
“Credit also to the Rangers board for identifying him as a young manager with promise and potential, and going out to get him. “The partnership is paying off. “Rangers are a massive football club, and there must be extraordinary demands every single day on the manager.
“But Steven has coped with it very, very well.”
Wallace was signed by Dick Advocaat for Rangers in the summer of 1998 on a Bosman, which proved to be a very shrewd piece of business. In his first two seasons, he won the Treble and a Double, and scored 41 goals in 78 games.
The Englishman was popular in the dressing room with his teammates, and was also loved by the Light Blues faithful. Wallace smiled: “My time at Rangers was very special. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
“The Rangers supporters made me feel very welcome, and they were a joy to play in front of.
“It was an absolute pleasure to score at Ibrox and hear the incredible noise they made. “Sometimes it was genuinely deafening.
“I’m just 5ft 7in – but they made me feel 10-feet-tall.
“I suppose that will be the frustrating thing now for Steven, the players and the supporters – the fact that they are not allowed in to support the team.
“Rangers are on the verge of their first title in 10 years, and supporters have missed out on a lot of success in that time.
“So there will be almighty celebrations, I’m sure, when they get over the line, and the title is in the bag
“But the important thing is that, right now, everyone inside the club will still feel the warmth from the support.
“There is still a real connect there that the players will feel every time they go on to the pitch. That’s important.
“Maybe some supporters will be allowed back in by April or May? That would be nice for Rangers, and for football in general.
“We will need to wait and see, but the most important thing is the health and well-being of everyone.”