- Steven Gerrard calls Alfredo Morelos a “maverick” who was tough to manage at Rangers.
- Gerrard admits bending rules due to Morelos’ goals and importance to team success.
- Squad depth from Defoe and Roofe proved key to Rangers’ 2021 title win – and could be the same in 2026.
Former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has spoken about cult-hero striker Alferdo Morelos describing the Colombian as a “maverick.”
Gerrard managed Rangers from 2018 until late 2021, winning the 2021 Premiership title and taking the club from strength to strength in Europe.
Morelos was at the club when the Liverpool legend arrived, having signed the summer before.
He was the main striker throughout Gerrard’s spell in Scotland, particularly in his first two seasons when he scored 59 goals in less than two years.
Maverick Alfredo Morelos
“Morelos at Rangers was tough to manage,” he said on the Overlap podcast.
“He’d bend the rules and after he’d scored a brace, you knew something was coming.
“Sometimes you’d have to bite your tongue and turn a blind eye.”
He admitted this tested his man-management skills, with other players noticing a difference in treatment and standards.
He explained why Morelos had more leeway.
“You want to set rules and values, but he was so important to Rangers because he was the goals,” he explained.
“As a manager, you have to do what’s right and what’s best for the team.”
Spreading the load
Having already brought in Jermain Defoe as experienced competition for Morelos, he made further acquisitions in summer 2021, notably Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe.
He noted that the addition of Defoe and Roofe helped keep now Atletico Nacional forward on the straight and narrow.
“I brought Defoe and Roofe in [to the lineup] when he was challenging or breaking rules,” he revealed.
“They were itching to come in and that’s why we won the league.
“Their goals, is how we eventually won the league.”
Read Rangers analysis
With Rangers currently missing a maverick in the form of Morelos to score consistent goals, the outlay is once-again a shared responsibility, as it was with Roofe, Defoe and co.
Yousef Chermiti has netted in big games, while Bojan Miovski has had intermittent spurts of goals.
Ryan Naderi has yet to find the net in the Premiership but has been praised for his physicality and work rate.
Just as in 2021, if Danny Rohl’s Rangers are to be crowned champions, it will not be down to individual brilliant, but a team effort, all focused on one goal.
