JERMAIN DEFOE remained venerated by staff and players alike during John Potter’s spell at Sunderland working alongside Jack Ross.
So Hibernian’s management duo have no misconceptions that the absence of Alfredo Morelos will mean Rangers lack bite in the final third when they arrive in Edinburgh.
Defoe, 37, is likely to lead the line for the Rangers tomorrow evening following Morelos’ dismissal for gesturing towards Motherwell supporters last Sunday.
READ MORE: Five things Rangers must do to beat Hibernian and end their Easter Road hoodoo
And while Easter Road assistant Potter expects an altogether different challenge from the former England striker, he reckons it would be folly to underestimate the veteran.
Indeed, one of Sunderland’s biggest attacking threats during the early days of Ross and Potter’s reign in Wearside, striker Josh Maja, was still putting lessons learned at the feet of Defoe to good use prior to landing a dream move to Bordeaux in January.
“Jermain is a player we’ve admired and we heard a lot about him when we were down at Sunderland,” said Potter. “The staff down there raved about him.
“We had a young player at Sunderland, Josh Maja, and he used to talk about some of the training he did with Jermain in terms of finishing practice, his drills and his work rate.
“Everybody at Sunderland said he was a really nice guy – very kind – and they all loved him as a player and a person.
“He is a top-quality player, has been his whole career, and he scores goals. He always has.
“He’s probably a different threat to Alfredo Morelos, who can create things by himself and helps Rangers get up the pitch – he is quick, strong and direct.
“Jermain is a different proposition to that. However, Rangers are the sort of team that has a lot of the ball, tries to create chances, and he is more than capable of getting on the end of those.”
That was made plainly clear in August when Rangers decimated Paul Heckingbottom’s Hibs side 6-1 at Ibrox, with Defoe helping himself to a hat-trick.
READ MORE: Alfredo Morelos thanks his Rangers team mates for helping him achieve UEFA goals record
It is a video nasty that Ross and Potter have watched this week as they prepare to welcome Steven Gerrard’s men to Leith, however they are determined to not become fixed on how to stop Rangers. Instead, Hibs intend to be the side dictating the game.
“We were actually just speaking to our staff about that game Wednesday morning, Jermain was electric that day,” said Potter. “Being at a club like Rangers, they will create chances for him and if you are looking for someone to get on the end of those, he is as good as anyone.
“So we need to try to stop the ball from getting to him, stop the ball from coming into our box, because if he does get chances there is a likelihood he will score.
“We’ve looked at that [6-1 defeat] a little bit and we’ve tried to do our homework on Rangers and make sure we are prepared thoroughly for the challenge. However, we need to concentrate on ourselves.
“We are the home team and want to be the side taking the game to Rangers. Let’s try to get them on the back foot and try to score some goals.”
John Potter was speaking at the latest SPFL Trust Festive Friends event. Find out more at spfltrust.org.uk/festivefriends
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