Ibrox boss piles praise on Morelos

STEVEN GERRARD hailed Alfredo Morelos for the moment of magic which secured a crucial three points for Rangers yesterday. The top scorer came off the bench to grab his 28th goal of the season with the only strike in a nervy win over Kilmarnock. Despite a leggy display, Gerrard’s side now have the chance to slash the gap on Celtic to two points with a game in hand if they win at Parkhead on Sunday. ‘We have a game in hand, so I’m not really too concerned about gaps,’ said the Ibrox boss. ‘I’m concerned with my team winning football matches. We are going to

Parkhead in good form and good shape. ‘We know it will be a very tough match, they have a very strong home record. But we played Celtic a few weeks ago and put a good show on, gave a good account of ourselves. ‘I expect us to go there with confidence and belief we can get a result.’ Rested in favour of Jermain Defoe, Morelos came off the bench to claim the winner seven minutes after his introduction, defying Kilmarnock claims for an offside flag. ‘That’s what he gets paid to do and he gets paid very well to do it,’ said Gerrard. ‘He’s being doing it from the start of the season and I predict he’ll continue to do it until the end of the season. ‘We speak about him most weeks and most games because he is such a fantastic footballer. ‘At Hibs, it was about Defoe, Kent and Aribo. Today it’s about Morelos. That’s what being part of Rangers is all about, you expect your players in the final third to provide those moments of magic. He has stepped up at a big time for us.’ Still without a goal in 11 appearances against Celtic, the Colombian seems certain to be given another crack at ending his Old Firm drought despite the Rangers boss refusing to give much away. ‘You ask that question every single press conference and get exactly the same answer — wait and see,’ he said. Gerrard was more forthcoming with his admission that his team had to show another side of their game to secure the desired result against a managerless Killie side without a win in their last seven games. ‘I apologise if it didn’t look pretty for the supporters, that it wasn’t three, four or five goals,’ said Gerrard. ‘But I’m going away very happy because it’s a win and a clean sheet. ‘We set out to entertain, to play well and for it to look brilliant on the eye. But teams are not going to just allow that every single week. ‘You have to give credit to Kilmarnock, they defended resolutely. They were getting blocks in and got a lot of men behind the ball. Linked with a move for out-offavour Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud in the French press, a bemused Gerrard responded: ‘We are getting linked with some good players. I don’t know anything about it, to be honest. If someone knows something about it, give them my number. ‘That’s the first I’ve heard of it. He’s a good player, though.’ Interim Killie boss Dyer said: ‘That was the Kilmarnock that I know. Everyone worked hard, they were confident, good work rate, I was chuffed with them — very pleased.’ Coy on transfer links with free agent midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, Dyer offered no complaints over the Rangers winner despite some of his players claiming for offside. ‘No, it wasn’t offside,’ he said.