Alfredo Morelos instructed to smile more as Rangers boss approves Antonio Colak strike partnership

Radical departures in the deployment of personnel at Rangers will be considered by Michael Beale.
Rangers manager Michael Beale wants to see more smiles from an Alfredo Morelos as he seeks to create the environment to bring the best out of the forward again. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)Rangers manager Michael Beale wants to see more smiles from an Alfredo Morelos as he seeks to create the environment to bring the best out of the forward again. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Rangers manager Michael Beale wants to see more smiles from an Alfredo Morelos as he seeks to create the environment to bring the best out of the forward again. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

And their upshot could be avoiding radical departures of said personnel. The new Ibrox manager appears unwilling to give up the possibility of retaining Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, even as the pair seem intent on running down their contracts, which expire next summer. Beale is confident he can revitalise the pair, whose situations could have a different look “five or six games” into his tenure. He is set on coaxing from them the form they produced when he was right-hand man to Steven Gerrard for the club’s remarkable invincibles title success in 2020-21. Morelos, whose attitude and conditioning was questioned earlier this season by predecessor Giovanni van Bronckhorst, has been largely forced to play second fiddle to Antonio Colak. The Dutchman was adamant the pair could not be permed into a twin strikeforce. Beale, in contrast, is unequivocal they can be.

“When we play with three up front we say they’re three no.9s, or three forwards, and they’re able to interchange. But I do feel that those two can play together,” he said. “We have the top goalscorer in the league in Colak with someone who has been prolific before in the league in Alfredo. So as long as they are fit and willing to play together then I don’t see any reason why they can’t. We could then have Ryan Kent or Alex Lowry playing behind - or Rabbi [Matondo] - with Tillman breaking out of midfield, or [Scott] Arfield. I feel you need three and a half goalscorers on the pitch and we’re unique in that we’ve got a goalscoring right-back [James Tavernier] which also adds to it and gives us a lot of potential.”

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Beale sees potential and not problems when he considers the on-pitch contribution that can be drawn from Morelos who, as with Kent, he wants to sport a sunnier disposition. “We’re in the honeymoon period at the moment, me and him…no, we know each other,” the Rangers manager said. “I’ve lived with him and he did some fantastic things when I was here before. On a personal level, out on the training pitch, we always really got on. Nothing seems to have changed with that. There is always a lot of noise around Alfredo but I think the most important thing for him is just to play football. On Tuesday me and Alfredo were part of the group that went around the hospital. That’s the sort of thing people don’t see with Alfredo. He gives time to people. When he’s on the pitch he’s very committed and he has that look on his face sometimes. I’d like him to smile more, I think that’s important. I’ve actually said that to Ryan Kent too and some of the other players - show that you’re living your dream.

“At this time of year especially, as a footballer you’re around your family and arguably everybody in your family would want to be you. You earn a good living to play football in front of thousands of people. It’s important that they enjoy that. Sometimes at clubs like Rangers the background noise [can take over]. It’s important I have those conversations and Alfredo is certainly a better player when he feels the warmth of everybody around him. The only place we can guarantee that is inside this building.”

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