BT Sport broadcaster Darrell Currie took to Twitter to deliver a two-word verdict on the game at Ibrox today, saying the 0-0 draw against St Johnstone was a “hammer blow” for Steven Gerrard’s side.
Rangers had striker problems before the game, with Alfredo Morelos suspended and fitness doubts over Jermain Defoe and Kyle Lafferty.
In the end though, both of their veterans made it, with Defoe starting and Lafferty coming on in the second-half.
It wasn’t enough though and Rangers’ title bid took a potentially fatal blow against a team Celtic beat 5-0 last weekend.
Currie delivered the verdict on his personal Twitter account on Saturday afternoon and said, “Quite simply not the same team without Morelos”.
All over at Ibrox 0-0. Good point for the Saints. Hammer blow for Rangers. Quite simply not the same team without Morelos…
— Darrell Currie (@darrellcurrietv) February 16, 2019
OPINION
This is becoming a thing for Rangers. Lose Alfredo Morelos and they’re a completely different side. It happened in the semi-final of the cup when they lost to Aberdeen. And, despite having both Lafferty and Defoe to call on today, it’s happened again at Ibrox. There’s still a long way to go in the Premiership race but this is probably it for Rangers now. They’re five points behind Celtic and they’ve played an extra game. Gerrard might have taken big strides towards getting Rangers back to being competitive at the top of the Scotland game, but this highlights two serious issues that he has to solve – one short term (how to keep Morelos on the pitch) and one long-term (what to do when he goes). At the moment Gerrard hasn’t got the answer for either.