Steven Gerrard has issued a thinly veiled warning to Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos after his latest disciplinary issue, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.
The 23-year-old had a wretched on-field disciplinary record last season, picking up five red cards (one later rescinded) and 18 yellows across all competitions.
It looked as though he had mellowed for much of the first half of this campaign, but he’s been unavailable far too often in recent months.
He was red-carded at Motherwell in mid-December before being sent off in the closing stages of his side’s win over Celtic at Parkhead just a fortnight later.
Suspension saw him miss the first three fixtures of 2020 before he then picked up a third Europa League booking against Braga at Ibrox, which saw him miss the second leg in Portugal.
Despite all that, he had a trip home to Columbia sanctioned by the club whilst he was unavailable, but he failed to return on time. Steven Gerrard chose to omit him from the squad for the massive Scottish Cup quarter-final at Hearts and he’s since been internally disciplined.
Morelos is free to return against Hamilton in the league on Wednesday night with the matter now closed, but it seems it’s approaching last chance saloon for the forward.
“It’s not important that Alfredo does the right thing for me,” said Gerrard, as quoted by Glasgow Times. “It has reached the point where Alfredo needs to do it for the Rangers fans. And for his own team-mates who are desperate to be a success.”
“This can’t be Morelos FC. This needs to be Rangers FC and every single player that represents the club needs to behave in the right way on and off the pitch. They are paid extremely well to be professional and respectful to the club and the job and the supporters.
“The supporters follow them near and far every single week through all conditions. They do not pick and choose their games. So everybody has to realise that and represent them in the right way. If they don’t there will come a point where we find someone else who will do that.”
Verdict
It must have been immensely frustrating for Steven Gerrard, who has backed Morelos to the hilt over the past season and a half, to see the player breach club discipline last week.
There’s no doubt his absence had an impact on the performance, with the toothless Gers knocked out by a Hearts side who have struggled all season.
The player has since apologised, taking to social media and vowing to do better.
However, as far as Gerrard is concerned, it’s now beyond talk. El Bufalo needs to prove with his actions that he’s as dedicated to the cause as he can be, that he’s as professional in his conduct as possible.
It was a poor lapse from a star player and judging by these comments, there won’t be room for many more slip-ups going forward.
