As Rangers struggled to break down St Johnstone without Alfredo Morelos the view that the Ibrox side are a one-man team was reinforced. Ex-Gers keeper Cammy Bell - he of the Cousin Boneless impression during the infamous playoff final defeat to Motherwell - had just two saves to make, and it is perhaps disingenuous calling them saves.

Following the goalless draw Steven Gerrard ruled out winning the league. He had just watched his team pass up the chance to move to within three points of Celtic ahead of their rival’s meeting with Kilmarnock on Sunday past, instead they finished the weekend eight points adrift.

“I’m struggling to find any positives,” Gerrard said in the aftermath. “If you have a group of lads and they give you that across the board, that’s not what’s required at Rangers. You’re miles away from it.

Do Rangers rely too much on Alfredo Morelos. Picture: SNS/Alan Harvey

“At the beginning of the season we had direction, urgency and people performing like Rangers players. They were pressing and hunting. It was great to see and we gave them praise for it. There was none of that. There were normal players I can trust but I just felt we weren’t going to achieve it.”

Anyone who watched the 90 minutes will have understood his frustration. It was a desperately uninspiring display, one of those tepid performances, devoid of inspiration, where fans are better served planning their weekly shop, getting on top of work emails, clearing out apps on their phone rather than watching what’s unfolding on the pitch.

David Edgar of the Heart & Hand Rangers podcast summed it up: “A performance we have seen far too often from them this season where they started slowly, no tempo at all, no urgency in their play.

“Then, unfortunately, we were treated to a recital of the ‘spin round, pass back to central defender’ dance, over and over and over again.

“I thought the fans were quite right to feeling very badly let down.

“These are a group of players that bristle at the suggestion that Rangers are a one-man team. Well, Alfredo Morelos has been missing the last two weeks and I haven’t seen many people stepping up to fill the gap that he has left.”

Rangers missed a certain joie de vivre to their play. A quality that is provided by Morelos. But is it unjust to label Rangers a one-man team and are his team-mates right to “bristle”?

Looking at the bare stats suggests the view is correct. The Colombian has missed six matches in all competitions (he was left on the bench for a seventh, against Cowdenbeath). Of those six they have won just once, failing to score in three. He is the leading scorer in the Premiership with 15 goals and those strikes have been worth nine points.

Rangers have not found a way to play without him. He seems to act as the team’s compass, in his absence the team are directionless, unsure, lost. Play becomes indecisive and tentative.

With Morelos in the team, players look up and he seems to be offer the ideal solution, whether it is dropping deep to pick up possession and link play or spin behind and turn defences. He has that presence which rallies the crowd, brings an edge to the game.

There is the influence he has on his own team as well as the one he has on opponents. The nuisance factor you could call it. To think, there was a piece written this season criticising his work-rate.

Morelos is both selfish and selfless. Team-mates shouldn’t expect a pass when he is bearing down on goal but the work off the ball he does, using his body so well to protect the ball, back in, act as a wall to team-mates is admirable. Even moments where he has no chance of winning the ball he puts opponents under sufficient pressure so as to make sure they don’t get an easy out.

So it is not rocket science to realise that Rangers suffer when their best player is not playing. It is also ridiculous to claim that him missing three games through suspension is the reason the team are not closer to Celtic. He is the reason they are as close as they are.

But he has had plenty of help along the way.

Goalkeeper wasn’t an area Rangers were in desperate need of an upgrade with Wes Foderingham but in Allan McGregor that’s what they got, while in front of him Connor Goldson has been a shrewd piece of business even if his form has not quite hit the heights of the opening months of his career in Govan.

Then there is the midfield duo Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield. Both were also missing in the draw with St Johnstone. The former embodies his manager on the field and provides an element of composure at the base of the midfield, setting the tempo.

Arfield offers verticality and drive from midfield. Despite being left frustrated by Morelos at times when he gets himself in good positions he has a good on-field relationship with the striker, making supporting runs which has yielded six goals. In the last five league fixtures he has missed Rangers have won just once.

In Ryan Kent, Rangers have one of the most exciting players in the league. The jinking winger weaves around players as if tackling the downhill slopes of Whistler. He has the quality but perhaps not the consistency to fill that void.

Then there is James Tavernier. Only Morelos has a greater combined goals and assists figure. No one has hit more crosses, no player has made more key passes and through balls, he is fourth in the league for passes and third for passes into the final third. Few teams in world football have a right-back who is so influential.

The seven individuals have played just six games together in the league this season. So it is far to easy to dismiss Rangers as a one-man team.

A more accurate criticism is that they can be too one-dimensional. They are guilty of crossing the ball too often - no team gets near Rangers’ 553 crosses - and becoming too predictable in their game plan. Gerrard is right to call his players to step up, but he also has to do the same and provide his team with more answers, more solutions.

When things are not going well the current solution is Alfredo Morelos and when a team is too reliant on one individual when in need of inspiration problems arise, as they have done.

It is Gerrard’s challenge to now find a way to give his side more strings to their bow.

Are Rangers a one-man team with Alfredo Morelos?