Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has hinted he would be willing to play Jermain Defoe alongside Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos in the second half of the season.
So far this term the Ibrox boss has mostly utilised Morelos as a lone striker spearheading the Rangers attack, with some fans feeling that this hampered our ability to really get at opposition defences.
Summer signing Kyle Lafferty has struggled to inject himself into first-team plans on a regular basis and when he has played it’s mostly been as a replacement for the 20-goal forward.
A curious aspect of the Defoe signing was figuring out whether he would play in support of the 22-year-old or simply act as back-up.
When asked whether the veteran English Premier League veteran could play with Morelos, Gerrard told Sky Sports:
Yes, 100 per cent. So can Defoe and Lafferty, so can Lafferty and Morelos.
It will just depend on the game and the opposition, who’s in form and who deserves to keep the shirt.
I think one thing that’s been obvious in the first six months is that we’ve been heavily reliant on Alfredo, certainly early on in the European run.
Lafferty came in and helped but it’s not enough to have two strikers.
Having three forwards he now trusts is clearly a massive boost to the squad heading into the super competitive stage of the season.
It’s clear failed loan signing Umar Sadiq was never fancied from the start and that may have played a major role in restricting Gerrard to a ‘one up front’ mentality.
The training camp in Tenerife will give the manager and coaching staff a perfect chance to analyse and refresh the current set-up. The victory over Celtic aside, we’ve definitely looked a bit one note in the final third over the last six matches or so.
I can’t wait to see how it all pays off when we return to action.