As Rangers fans lick their wounds following the bitterly disappointing Old Firm defeat to Celtic, the absence of Alfredo Morelos was felt hard by the Ibrox side.
The Gers talisman was not available for this must-win Ibrox clash and could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a muscle injury on international duty with Colombia.
As evidenced against Celtic, this could spell disaster for Rangers’ season with the team seemingly incapable of tactical flexibility which suits the players who I can replace him.
Rangers’ over reliance on Alfredo Morelos has finally come home to roost as Celtic go six points clear with one hand on the trophy and the £30m jackpot that comes with it.
But Rangers didn’t make things easy for themselves by pitting replacement forward Kemar Roofe up against two powerful centre-halves and then punting balls into the box for 90 minutes.
In a tepid, lacklustre second 45, out of sorts and out of ideas Rangers reverted to type and played with a blunt edge brought on by a reluctance to diversify without Morelos in the side.
This rests at the feet of three parties.
Over-reliance on Alfredo Morelos a club-wide failure at Rangers
Firstly, the players deserve massive criticism for how they’ve let this title, a shoo-in last August, slip from their grasp with tepid, uninspired and unininterested displays not befitting the club.
A clear-out is long overdue and Alfredo Morelos might be one of a handful who deserves their place in the squad.
Secondly, Giovanni van Bronckhorst knows Kemar Roofe is not the same player yet insisted on sticking to a type of football that is ultimately designed to utilise Morelos’ strengths.
This management team have not yet proven that they can handle a rebuild – something the Rangers directors will have to dig deep for – and their tactical naivety in the Scottish game raises major questions.
Finally, club sporting director Ross Wilson has had a disastrous two windows where the club has failed to build on a position of strength and let Celtic close the gap.
The over reliance on Alfredo Morelos is well documented, yet Wilson and the Rangers board have done nothing to quell this, despite it being obvious for the last four seasons.
Rangers should never be left counting the cost of one player being out of the side, and the players, management and club have let the support down with their handling of this situation.
Here’s our match report from the disappointing clash.
