Gordon Smith believes that Rangers boss Steven Gerrard cannot afford not to start striker Alfredo Morelos in the Scottish Cup quarter-final replay against Aberdeen on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old ace is just one yellow card away from potentially missing the semi-final of the competition, where they could be meeting bitter rivals Celtic, which Smith says has caused many to call for Gerrard to drop the Colombian and unleash him in the next round if they get there.
Smith says that Gerrard cannot afford to drop him, as there is no way of knowing whether his team would be able to get past Aberdeen without him.
“The potential pairing of Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-finals has got everybody talking. And plenty of Bluenoses, it seems, would have Steven Gerrard rest Alfredo Morelos for Tuesday’s replay against Aberdeen,” he said in his Sunday Post column.
“With the Colombian just a booking away from missing the derby, should his side progress, they worry using him against the Dons – against whom he has been sent off three times this season – would be just too risky.
“He can’t afford to rest Morelos as he can’t be sure his team will win against the Dons without him. [Jermain] Defoe and [Kyle] Lafferty can both score great goals but don’t create opportunities for themselves the way Morelos does. So the Colombian has to play at Ibrox on Tuesday.”
OPINION
Smith has got a really good point here – if Morelos does not play on Tuesday, then Rangers run the risk of losing out on silverware completely if they lose to Aberdeen. This simply cannot happen, so the Gers must give themselves the best shot that they can by playing the Colombian in a couple of days’ time. Yes, he runs the risk of getting the booking that could potentially make him miss an epic showdown with Celtic in the semi-final – and his previous record suggests that may be the case – but Gerrard would be mad not to include him in the starting XI. There is no denying what Lafferty and Defoe bring to the table – they are more than capable of scoring goals when Rangers need it – but Morelos is by far the better forward out of the three. He has to start – it is as simple as that really.