STEVEN Gerrard has urged Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos to upstage Galatasaray great Radamel Falcao and impress watching Colombia manager Carlos Queiroz tonight - by firing Rangers into the Europa League group stages.
Morelos is set to take to the same field as his boyhood idol Falcao, the former Porto, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea forward, in the one-off play-off match against the Turkish giants at Ibrox.
Gerrard revealed that ex-United assistant Queiroz has been in touch with him this week and will be taking a close interest in how both of his players perform in Govan this evening.
He believes his mercurial front man has the potential to enjoy the scale the same heights as his country’s all-time leading goalscorer in future if he displays the same level of dedication and professionalism.
However, he stressed that Morelos’s immediate priority must be on netting against Fatih Terim’s men this evening and ensuring Rangers qualify for the group stages of the competition for the third year running.
“I’ve had a conversation with the Colombian national coach, Carlos Queiroz, who tells me he will be watching both players on Thursday night,” he said.
“But I think the only incentive for Alfredo is to impress the Rangers fans and to impress me, the coaching staff and his team-mates with another fantastic performance at this level. Because we know when he’s at his best how important he can be for the team. That should be his only focus.
“That (his best form) been there for certainly a couple of weeks now, if not a bit longer. You can see he looks in better shape, he’s looking sharp and his all-round game has come back.
“But the biggest and most obvious thing I’ve noticed is that he looks happy. He’s smiling, he’s better around the place, he looks focused. His professional attitude has been spot-on.
“Normally, when you have that approach, good performances come out on the pitch and that’s certainly what we are seeing of late.”
Gerrard added: “I’ve read before today that Alfredo has an incredible amount of respect for Falcao, which is great. He should use Falcao as a role model and a hero for the level he is striving for, to have a similar type of career.
“But, of course, before the game and after the game it’s good for him to have a role model in Falcao.
“As a young player, in the place Alfredo is, that he should always strive to be the best he can be. He should always strive for the top, I don’t think there is any harm in reaching for the stars.
“Falcao has been a world class player for many, many years. He’s someone I myself admit looking up to as a player.
“In the game, every player has heroes and inspirations to try and follow. I’m sure that’s what Alfredo is doing because Falcao deserves all the credit he gets in the game. He has stayed at the top and delivered at the top for so long.”
Gerrard could have Brandon Barker and Ryan Jack available for selection tonight after both players returned to full training this week after injury lay-offs.
However, Cedric Itten, who scored two goals in the 5-1 win over Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, is a “major doubt” due to a knee problem.
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