Derek Johnstone has hailed the impact Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos can make after his red card against Aberdeen on Wednesday, but said his aggression could prevent his chances of a move to a bigger club.
The Gers secured a 4-2 win with two goals from Morelos helping them on their way, but the Colombian was sent off in the 57th minute just two minutes after Scott McKenna received a red card himself.
Johnstone has now hailed the impact the centre-forward can make after the sending off, highlighting just how important the 22-year-old is to boss Steven Gerrard at the moment – but he added that he needs to control his emotions on the pitch a lot better than he did on Wednesday.
“It is obvious that he is such an important player for Rangers, but he is no use to us in the stands. Steven Gerrard needs him on the park and he will have said that to him plenty of times,” Johnstone wrote in his Evening Times column.
“We say every time that Alfredo gets sent off that he will have to watch himself and it is a shame that he went off early because the first half showed just how much talent he has. As the manager said post-match, he can go far in the game. His ability will give him a great chance of doing that.
“But if he picks up red cards, that could reduce his options and maybe deny him the chance to go to a bigger club in the future.
“It is difficult for a player that is still relatively young, especially when he maybe feels he is being targeted by other players. It is only natural that he will react but the manager was right when he said he has to channel that aggression in the right manner at times.”
OPINION
Johnstone is right – Morelos is incredibly important to Gerrard this season, and this is no doubt reinforced further when he is sent off and is not on the pitch. This is obviously where Rangers miss him most, and like Johnstone said, he needs to channel this aggression a lot more after a number of red cards already against his name this season. Bigger clubs will not want to go in for him if he continues to show that he cannot handle his emotions, as what is the point in signing a player who gets sent off on a regular basis? They wouldn’t, and the more he does this, the less likely he is going to get a move away from Ibrox. However, this is not the only reason why he needs to start controlling his emotions a lot better. He is staying at the club until the summer at least, and during that time, Gerrard needs him performing at the standard the fans know he can reach – especially as the Gers have a shot at the title.