Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty has fallen down the Ibrox pecking order.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has told The Scottish Sun that he wants to see Kyle Lafferty fight for a first-team place at Ibrox.
The Gers beat Livingston on Sunday, getting back to winning ways with a fine performance after a disappointing showing at Kilmarnock last week.
Alfredo Morelos got on the scoresheet whilst Jermain Defoe came on as a substitute, with Gerrard able to show off his attacking talent.
However, there was no place in the squad for Kyle Lafferty, as he was left out completely in a source of major disappointment for the Northern Irishman.
Lafferty, 31, was a Gerrard signing over the summer as the striker left Hearts for a move back to Rangers, six years after he ended his first spell at Ibrox.
After 20 goals in 48 games for Hearts, Rangers fans had real hope that Lafferty would be returning to Ibrox a better player than the one who left, but that hasn’t really happened so far.
Lafferty has scored just four goals for Rangers this season, and hasn’t found the net since the 5-1 win over St Johnstone back on September 23rd.
After four months without a goal, it’s no great shock that Lafferty has been bumped from the matchday squad in favour of new signing Defoe, and Gerrard has now addressed the situation.
Gerrard has suggested that he is happy with what Lafferty is doing in training, but he must take his chance when it comes along, essentially telling him to do ‘do something about it’ if he isn’t happy with not playing.
“Kyle’s just got to keep his head down and work as hard as he can,” said Gerrard. “There will be opportunities in the short, medium and long term for him. We still think he can contribute here and he’s got a big part to play. But I’m interested to see what reaction he gives to being left out of the 18. That’s the same for every player. He’s paid to contribute in the final part of the pitch and that’s what I’ll judge him on.”
“I’m happy with his attitude and application in training. The competition has got a little bit more with Jermain’s arrival. But there is competition in midfield and defence as well. We’ve got a big squad. We believe in the squad and everyone’s competing for places. Hopefully that is good for us.”
“There will be opportunities for the players to contribute. They earn the right. I pick the best players and the players I think can get the job done. There is no preferential treatment here. I pick the players who can get the job done and get wins for the supporters. It’s as simple as that really. If you are not in the 11, not in the 18, do something about it yourself,” he added.
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