Ex-Rangers boss Mark Warburton says talented Alfredo Morelos is risky business

Former Rangers manager Mark Warburton with the Scottish Cup. Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS

And the Englishman considers that sort of equivocation requires to be applied when placing a monetary value on the permanently plundering, permanently petulant and permanently punishable  performer.

Warburton was back in Glasgow yesterday to promote his old team’s trip to Kilmarnock for Saturday evening’s William Hill Scottish Cup tie. The eligibility of Morelos for that won’t be known until this evening, when a hastily-arranged hearing is likely to conclude following Rangers’ decision to appeal the latest red card shown to the 22-year-old. The striker sullied another pivotal showing wherein he delivered a double to down Aberdeen 4-2 at Pittodrie when he kicked out at Scott McKenna in an incident that led referee Bobby Madden to send off both players.

The fourth dismissal for Morelos in a season that has brought him 23 goals, it is forever difficult to decide whether his hot-headedness can be excused by his hot properties.

Signed in the summer following Warburton’s acrimonious exit two years ago this weekend that he remains perplexed was presented as a resignation – “I still get the odd abusive text, every day, from fans who think I walked away from Rangers but I’d never walk away from this magnificent club. Ever.” – Morelos is the primary reason Steven Gerrard’s side are alive and kicking in the title race.

Rangers couldn’t afford to lose a forward described as a street fighter in the transfer window. The time will come when they do receive a knock-out bid but Warburton wonders what any buyer might consider they could tolerate of Morelos’ on-field behaviour. He has the talent to prosper  at a high level in the English Premier League, he just doesn’t appear to have the temperament.

“If I’m looking at the clubs at the bottom of the Premier League, why would you not look at him?” said Warburton.

“I’m not saying this to cause Steven or Rangers any problems, but why would you not? He leads the line, he’s a goalscorer, he’s a pain in the backside to defenders. He’s a talented player. But I think you would do your own homework and that would be a massive risk. It depends on the cost.

“Look at the Premier League and what they pay for players. If you’re spending £30-40 million on a striker, I wouldn’t take it [the risk]. If it’s £8-10m or £12-15m, I’m not saying that’s a cheap gamble, but it’s one that, if it went wrong…

“If you look at the Premier League, they’re going to use every tool in their armoury to upset a player and win a game of football in the right way. At the moment, there is obviously a red-mist scenario.

“But [in football terms] he’s a kid, he’s a baby. Most importantly for me, Rangers have got a very, very talented player who I hope will learn from Jermain [Defoe] and of course from Steven.

“He will be a real asset if they can hang on to him. If I’m a  Premier League club, would I take the gamble? How many good strikers are there? Everyone wants a good striker. That’s the problem.”

The problems that Warburton encountered in his ill-starred second season at Ibrox, that followed the “non-negotiable” delivering of Championship success before the Scottish Cup final was lost in dramatic circumstances to Hibernian, came with expectations.

These were fuelled by the “going for 55” card display that greeted Warburton before the club’s first Premiership encounter… and almost left him greeting.

“Talk about the right message to the supporters, that lights a blue touchpaper,” he said. “We weren’t going to beat Celtic that season. But build the team, build the squad, and come year three, European football and have a go. That wasn’t the case but I’m not a bitter and twisted man sitting here.”

Warburton is a chastened one, though. He says he found out he had “resigned” sitting on his couch “watching the yellow Sky Sports News ticker”. And it was internal news management he felt let him down.

“When you talk about what lessons I learned, I would have controlled the media differently. I was told by a top Premier League manager to have your own media man in there. Whether it costs a hundred grand a year, I thought how could I possibly do that? But in hindsight maybe I should. It’s nothing against the Press, but I wasn’t controlling what was coming out of the club.”

l Mark Warburton was speaking at a William Hill media conference. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.