OPINION
Rangers are facing a striker crisis heading into their Scottish Cup semi-final.
Main man Alfredo Morelos will miss out on the game against Aberdeen after picking up a booking for dissent, his second in the competition after picking one up against Kilmarnock in the last round.
It was a needless booking that took some of the shine off another brilliant win for Gerrard’s side.
With Kyle Lafferty cup-tied it means that Steven Gerrard only has on-loan striker Umar Sadiq as a recognised striker.
But he wasn’t even included in the squad last night, which led a lot of fans to believe that his career at Ibrox was over before it had really started.
And Gerrard himself was scathing of the player after the match last night, delivering a very public warning about his form and how much he needs to improve to get anywhere near the team.
“It’s a frustration – we lose a player in form and we are going to have to find a way to get the job done without a natural nine unless Sadiq comes to the party and improves an awful lot between now and then.”
These words don’t make it sound like Sadiq is going to get the nod against Aberdeen. And if you can’t get in the team when you’re the only recognised player in your position, it doesn’t bode well for the future.
The towering 6ft 3in striker has only played 26 minutes of football for Rangers across three appearances and this public dressing down by Gerrard seems like a final warning – shape up or expect to be shipped out in January.
The smart money would have to be on him getting shipped back to Roma in the winter and it shows just how important the signing of Lafferty was for the club.