Boss so glad his attack is no longer all about Alfredo
FOURTEEN Europa League goals before Christmas made Alf r e do Morelos a record- breaking talisman for Rangers last season. The Colombian scored eight times to hoist Steven Gerrard’s side through the qualifiers and into the group stage. He then added another half- dozen against Porto, Feyenoord and Young Boys to bring continental knock-out football back to Ibrox for the first time since 2011. It was a Herculean effort. His broad shoulders seemed to carry the hopes of an entire club. But that reliance came with an obvious risk attached.
When Morelos picked up another Old Firm red card that l ed to him being banned for the first three games of 2020, his subsequent decline in form was mirrored by Gerrard’s squad as a whole. No one was able to fill the vacancy as hope of domestic silverware rapidly unravelled.
This time around, Rangers are being raised by many hands.
There is every chance Morelos — still not back to the potency of 2019 — could start tonight’s Europa League Group D visit from Lech Poznan but there is now a far more even spread of responsibility. Over the two-and-a-half years Steven Gerrard has been in charge, he has never had to think quite so much about who spearheads his attack.
Kemar Roofe’s incredible goal against Standard Liege last midweek was followed by a little masterpiece from Jermain Defoe in Sunday’s win over Livingston. While the veteran Englishman is not included in the European squad to manage his usage, £ 2.5million Swiss international Cedric Itten is waiting for a chance to add to his two goals to date.
It no longer has to be all about Alfredo. Gerrard hopes that will be to the benefit of everyone as his side look extend the 16-game unbeaten run that has bred so much optimism.
‘It’s fantastic for me to be in the position of having the quality and options I have available,’ said the Ibrox boss.
‘It’s a challenge for all of them to stay in form, stay sharp and keep themselves in a good place.
‘I don’t think it’s any secret that it’s the players in a good place, good form and scoring goals who are the ones likely to get the most minutes.
‘We have been heavily reliant on Alfredo for a large part of the last couple of years. We are in a better place now, we have other options, so that should be helpful to Alfredo and the other boys.’
Rangers have actually had 13 different scorers in their first dozen league games. So was there a conscious decision taken to heighten the potency of the squad and ease the burden on Morelos?
‘It wasn’t (done) for Alfredo, but for Rangers and for our ambitions t o be successful as a t eam and a group of players,’ explained Gerrard.
‘When you are trying to build a squad, you can’t do it with just one number nine or even with two number nines.
‘ When you are l ooking at a season when you are hoping to play around 60 games, you need to have numerous options.
‘Strikers pick up injuries and suspensions, they go off form or lose a bit of sharpness. So it’s important you have options, people who can take the baton when others are maybe not in a good place.
‘Now is the first time we’ve been in that position this season since we made the acquisitions of Itten and Roofe.
‘I see them competing against each other in training, which is good. Hopefully, that continues to the end of the season.’
Whether Morelos will be here until next summer is a question that can be parked for the next couple of months. After rejecting an offer from Lille during the last t r ansfer window, Gerrard is reluctant to make any longer-term predictions.
‘I’m a little tiny bit more certain in the short term,’ he said. ‘I just manage Alfredo from day to day, week to week. He’s available now till January. I can’t predict the future.
‘We are happy to have him here. We need him back at his top level in terms of his form and scoring goals in the short term. That’s my only priority right now.’
South African midfielder Bongani Zungu yesterday began training with Rangers after the end of his quarantine period following a loan switch from French side Amiens.
Zungu is part of the Europa League squad but Gerrard expects it will be after the next international break before he is able to really make an impact.
‘I put him in the squad tomorrow just because we have the luxury of naming 12 subs, otherwise it would have come too soon,’ added the 40-year- old. ‘We want him in a Rangers kit out there on the pitch as soon as we can. But he does need time to get up to speed.
‘He has been called up by his national team, so hopefully we can get him there and he can get more training and more game time. Then, after the i nternational break, he will be good to go.’