Kenny Miller responds to Ian McCall’s claims that Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos shouldn’t be on POTY shortlist

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Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos is the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Kenny Miller has defended Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos after Ian McCall stunningly claimed that he shouldn’t be on the shortlist for the PFA’s Player of the Year award.

The Ayr United manager argued that he shouldn’t be on that shortlist because his team would have been ‘seven or eight points’ clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table had he stayed on the pitch without getting sent off.

As reported by BBC Sport, hothead Morelos, Liverpool loanee Ryan Kent and Celtic’s attacking duo Callum McGregor and James Forrest are the four men vying for the main individual prize.

But speaking to Sportsround on BBC Scotland (01/05/2019), Miller defended his fellow striker for what he has done for Steven Gerrard’s side this season.

“I wouldn’t have had Morelos in it,” McCall told Sportsround. “Rangers would have been seven or eight points clear if he hadn’t been sent off five times. Forrest, McGregor definitely. Not sure about Kent.”

Miller responded by saying: “He’s absolutely missed when he’s not there in the team and that’s there for all to see. He’s the focal point of the team. Yes, Jermain Defoe has come in, he has been a fantastic player and is a fantastic player and has got goals since he came up to the club. But they miss that physical element.

“People say he can’t play up front with a partner and it’s because he does so much on his own. He’s unpredictable and he’s a real focal point of that team.”

Morelos has now served his most recent four-match suspension after he was given his marching orders during the Gers’ defeat against Celtic last time out.

In his absence, Bournemouth loanee Jermaine Defoe, who moved to Scotland from England in January, has taken his place in the starting XI.

Despite not having their main man up, the Light Blues have thrived in recent weeks, winning all of their matches, including their 2-0 win over Aberdeen over the weekend.