Rangers Fan View: Alfredo Morelos is the key to attacking set-up

Rangers have started hitting the high notes in terms of their performance levels and results. That is down to the way we are currently set up to attack. The fluency of the front four and the way they rotate in attacking situations has caused havoc for defences in the league. It has been a joy to watch at times.

The three behind Alfredo Morelos have had a lot of plaudits for their performances – Josh Windass, Jamie Murphy and Daniel Candeias – and rightly so. However, Morelos is the most important of the four in terms of making that front four tick and mesh into the attacking unit it has become.

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It’s not only his goals 17 and five assists that make him the most pivotal player in that front four, it’s his all-round game. If he hadn’t come to Rangers with the nickname El Bufalo, we may have been calling him the ox or the bulldozer because of how strong he is. He’s like the immovable object when he holds the ball up. His ability to bully defenders and use his backside is something that they cannot handle. The hold-up play is the biggest aspect of his game that’s improved since he made his debut for Rangers, in my opinion. It’s night and day in comparison. He must have broken the weights machines in the Auchenhowie gym in the six months since he’s been here.

But let’s not forget, Morelos no longer has Kenny Miller playing 50 yards away from him and leaving him isolated against a whole defensive unit. It frustrated me as a fan watching that situation unfold week in, week out, so I have no idea how Morelos felt when he had to do all the forward work on his own.

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Ultimately, having the three behind him has been a huge influence on Morelos’ game. It’s given him scope to be more fluid with his movement and helped him enhance the quality of the runs he makes because he has that attacking structure behind him to back him up and play close to him, enabling him to be the focal point, which is something he looks like he relishes.

For example, if we look at the two previous matches, against Hearts and the most recent against St Johnstone. Those matches illustrate this point. Against Hearts, he didn’t have his best day in front of goal. However, his constant work rate and movement off the ball kept Hearts penned in. When he was substituted you could see their back three have more confidence to come out with the ball. When he was subbed it was like Hearts’ defence had opened some release valve which allowed them to breathe again.

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Against St Johnstone, he took the hit to win the penalty. And unsurprisingly he bullied their two centre-halves into submission. However, unlike the Heats match, he got himself a goal his endeavours. He ran the channels and was involved in everything that was good and decisiveness in our attacking play. He’s the ultimate definition of a players’ player. There hasn’t been one match this season that he’s been involved in where you could question his work rate or general attitude. It’s that kind of attitude that’s endeared him to the Rangers support. In fact, I would go as far as to say he’s been our best striker since Nikica Jelavic. Going by recent Rangers strikers, that’s the highest praise he could receive. Right now he deserves all the praise that comes his way.

In the meantime, we have to enjoy him while he is here and spearheading our attack. He’s a young talent who will only get better with games and experience. I firmly believe he has all the footballing tools and the mental attributes to become a top striker in the future; it’s been a joy to watch him in a Rangers shirt thus far.

Hopefully he will go on to hit 20 goals for us before the season is out. But let’s not underplay this: Alfredo Morelos is much more to Rangers than just a goalscorer. He is the foundation on which our attack is built upon.