RED MERITED IN GERRARD’S EYES

‘desperate’ to send someone off, however, Rangers boss Gerrard bemoaned the suspension of his top scorer for Friday’s clash with Hibernian in Edinburgh after admitting Morelos got what he deserved. ‘It’s the first setback he’s had after huge improvements, so we’ll reset that, but we have no complaints,’ said Gerrard. ‘Unfortunately, the supporters and his team-mates will suffer because he’s not available for the next game.’ Aiming the gesture at Motherwell fans after adding to a Nikola Katic first-half header, Morelos was pelted by a lighter, a cup of Bovril and coins from the home supporters. ‘I think officials need to take that into consideration at times,’ added Gerrard. ‘There had been a bit of a commotion at half-time between both sets of players, although there wasn’t much in it. ‘But when I saw the referee book Ryan Jack and Declan Gallagher before the start of the second half, I thought that he was waiting for a moment. ‘I felt he was desperate to give out a red card today. ‘I had that feeling, which is unfortunate because our player does get that type of abuse. ‘We tried to take Alfredo off, for a couple of reasons — because he was already on a yellow but also because we were flashing balls across the six-yard box. ‘I felt that someone with a bit of nous and experience would have had a tap-in today because we continued to slide those balls in but there was no one there to capitalise on them. ‘Jermain Defoe might have been that person but I couldn’t get him on before the red card came out.’ Despite suggesting Defoe might have taken one of the chances Morelos passed up, the Rangers boss praised the 23-year-old’s overall performance before his dismissal. ‘He was unplayable,’ said the Rangers manager. ‘It is a setback today. He knows that. ‘But let’s not forget how much of an improvement there has been. ‘We will reset him and I’m sure he will be fine because he hates missing matches. Hopefully, he will get back and continue to improve in that area.’