A FINE MESS

Halliday suggests sent-off Rangers players should be hit in the pocket

ANDY HALLIDAY has called on his Rangers team-mates to consider drawing up their own deterrent scheme to hit offenders in the pocket before the club’s disciplinary problems derail a promising campaign.

Halliday was shocked when manager Steven Gerrard’s call for composure just 24 hours before their home game with Aberdeen was flagrantly ignored by firebrand striker Alfredo Morelos.

The Colombian was sent off for the third time under Gerrard as the Dons, themselves reduced to 10 men earlier in the game, won 1-0 at Ibrox in midweek. He was already suspended for today’s clash at Dundee.

Halliday, branding the rife indiscipline this season ‘unacceptable’, believes that after Gerrard’s warning failed with the EIGHTH sending-off of his reign, it is the members of the squad who must urgently drum up the answers to the issue, with stringent financial penalties a measure worth introducing.

The straight-talking Scot said: ‘We’ve certainly got many people in there who can take the changing room by the scruff of the neck and give it a shake. I think

that’s what we need right now. When you look back at the red cards, we’ve managed to hold on quite a lot in games, which shows the character the squad has.

‘But on a couple of occasions it has cost us points. It’s something we need to address.

‘The gaffer tried to address it through the week — and our response was to let it get out of control again.

‘The amount of red cards we’ve had this season is unacceptable. Some have been harsh but some have been justified.

‘We’ve not come up with the solution yet. Maybe it’s taking money off players.

‘Sometimes you can’t leave it all down to the staff because they do enough with the players on discipline.

‘The players might need to have a chat in-house about what we can do. If it’s costing you points, it’s going to cost you medals.’

Halliday confessed that 21-year-old top-scorer Morelos channelling his naturally combative streak to the right side of the disciplinary tightrope presents a challenge.

‘It’s a fine balance,’ he said. ‘You want boys to be competitive but you also want them to keep their composure.

‘Wayne Rooney is a perfect example. When he was a young kid, he had that fire in his belly and ultimately that’s what’s taken him to where he is today.

‘I’d never try to drill that out of young players.’