Glasgow Rangers did not miss Alfredo Morelos as they stormed to an emphatic win at Ibrox.
Jermain Defoe has told Rangers’ official YouTube channel that Alfredo Morelos’ disciplinary issues are no different to the ones experienced by some of the best strikers in world football, including Wayne Rooney, while he also explained how disappointed the Colombian was to not be playing on Wednesday night.
The Gers’ top goalscorer started a four-match ban during the 3-0 win against Hearts at Ibrox after his dismissal in Sunday’s Old Firm game. It is the fourth time that Morelos has been suspended following a dismissal this term, and it prompted a number of fans to criticise the youngster for not keeping his cool when involved in a clash with Scott Brown.
Some pundits have expressed a belief that Morelos will never change his ways and thus, Rangers would be better off selling him this summer. But Defoe insisted that he will learn to control his temperament, and explained how the disappointment at not being involved in games will help him.
“You think about the best forwards – I mean Wayne Rooney had a little bit of that when he was young. I think it was a part of growing up,” he told Rangers’ official YouTube channel. “As you get older, you become more experienced and you realise you don’t need to get involved.
“What I would say is that when you are a threat, a top player, defenders don’t want to play against you, they try to provoke you and sometimes you react.
“Last night you could see Alfredo was in the changing room, you see the body language, he’s gutted that he couldn’t be involved because he loves football. He’s a goalscorer, he wants to play, he loves scoring goals. He’s an international,” he went on to add.
Morelos is already an outstanding finisher. If he is able to work on avoiding any conflicts that could land him in trouble while keeping all of the attributes that make him such a fantastic player in front of goal, then Rangers will have an even more frightening striker on their hands.
As Defoe notes, for all the criticism that Morelos may get, there is clearly a reason that the likes of Scott Brown and Scott McKenna have made sure that they have got involved in clashes with the striker this season. If they felt that he was a player that they did not need to worry about, they would have no problem letting him focus on his own performance.
If Morelos can become less volatile, then Rangers’ rivals will have a much bigger problem to deal with.
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