STEVEN Gerrard’s post-match comments after the goalless draw with FK Shkupi in Macedonia were refreshing in their candour.

The result meant that Rangers avoided the ignominy of crashing out at the first qualifying round of the Europa League – as they had done 12 months earlier – and while Gerrard would have been relieved to have navigated that first hurdle, it as clear that he wasn’t happy with what he had seen from his men.

No more so was that evident than in his comments about the lack of quality in the final third, and it naturally follows that a fair proportion of the disappointment he felt would have been aimed at striker Alfredo Morelos, who was poor in both legs of the Shkupi tie in terms of finishing and in his link-up play.

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The wisdom of holding on to the Colombian has come into question from some quarters, and he has undoubtedly taken a step backwards since all the speculation over his future in January.

He will still score goals, and during the coming season, I would be expecting him to net between 15 and 20 times over the course of the campaign. If you are playing up front for Rangers week-in, week-out, that should be the bare minimum expectation though. The problem with Morelos, at least so far in his Rangers career, is that he has shown that he isn’t a man for the big occasion.

It’s all very well scoring one in every four or five chances against the likes of Hamilton and Ross County at home and topping up your tally that way, but that is the very least that a Rangers striker should be doing.

I don’t think that being prolific against the smaller sides in the league carries much water with the Rangers supporters, and certainly not with Gerrard, if you can’t then step up and do it when it really matters.

Morelos has had huge opportunities in matches against Celtic, for instance, and he has yet to score against them. It’s almost as if he has a mental block when he faces the champions.

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We’re not talking about half-chances here, think back to the one-on-ones he has failed to convert, while his miss against Celtic with a couple of minutes left in the 3-2 defeat back in March was up there with Peter van Vossen.

He may improve in this regard. He is only 22, and has time on his side, but it is no surprise to me to hear Gerrard talking about bringing in more forwards should things not improve. For me, the time has already arrived to be bolstering the attack.

So far, Rangers have only really brought in Roma’s Umar Sadiq that can play up top. He enjoyed a productive loan spell at NAC Breda in the second half of last season, scoring five goals in 12 appearances, but he too is far from the finished article.

What Rangers need is an established striker, someone of quality who can provide competition for places. That is so important to keep the other forwards sharp.

With Sadiq not available for the Shkupi games, Morelos knew there was no other option but to play him.

When I was at Rangers, the competition I had was a joke. We had Ronald De Boer, Michael Mols, Shota Arveladze, Peter Lovenkrands and Nacho Novo at the time as well as myself, so you knew that when you did make it into the side you had to produce the goods or you would be straight back out again. At the moment, that pressure isn’t on Morelos, and I think that he could be doing with it in order to keep him sharp.

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In stark contrast, just look at the embarrassment of riches that Celtic can currently call upon in attack. They are starting at the moment with Moussa Dembele and £9m signing Odsonne Edouard in attack, while Leigh Griffiths is waiting in the wings should either of those two go off the boil or suffer an injury.

When comparing the two strike forces, it really draws into sharp focus the gap in quality between the sides, and if Rangers are to have any pretensions whatsoever of mounting some sort of challenge for the title this season, closing that gap in quality has to be the number one priority now for Gerrard.

That is obviously easier said than done, however. Quality strikers don’t grow on trees, and given the budget that is likely to be available, Gerrard may have to do a bit of wheeling and dealing, perhaps even by using his contacts to get a quality player in on loan from down south.

He has looked to address the defensive situation and make Rangers more difficult to score against, and the players seem to be buying into that, but he now has to turn his attention to the other end of the pitch if he wants to make Rangers a force to be reckoned with.