Sir Kenny Dalglish: 100% for the shirt is the least fans want from players

Alfredo Morelos has been in the news in the past few days after his performance against Dundee in midweek.

The Rangers supporters were far from happy with the way he appeared to go about his business for the 75 minutes he was on the pitch.

Now, I’ve no idea what was going through the Colombian striker’s head. He rarely speaks to the media, so there won’t be an explanation from him.

It could be that he was really looking to do well, and was frustrated at his own performance.

For sure, it was Alfredo’s chance to impress, and show that he is the No.1 striker at Ibrox ahead of Antonio Colak.

An opportunity to re-establish himself as the main man between now and the break for the World Cup in mid-November.

As things turned out, Alfredo may well just have strengthened the Croatian striker’s standing.

Again, and I’m surmising here, but it could be that Alfredo is just not up for the fight.

Fans will be far from happy if that is the case.

The very least they demand is 100% effort for the jersey, and they are quite right to see that as a minimum requirement.

Whatever is going on, I don’t particularly want to focus on Alfredo.

I’d prefer to look at the merits of Antonio, and the qualities he brings to the table.

He has been a superb signing, and has shown he is reliable. He has been the main shining light out of all of Rangers’ summer signings.

Yet I think there is still a role for Alfredo to play at Rangers.

I heard Giovanni van Bronckhorst say that there is no reason why Antonio and Alfredo can’t operate as a partnership up front.

I’m sure the Rangers manager wouldn’t have mentioned that possibility unless it had seriously crossed his mind.

He has resisted any temptation, so far, to do so. But it would be an interesting one.

It’s very rare to see a front two at any level these days, but I’m sure Morelos and Colak would be good together, given time.

I’m not saying Giovanni should do that on Wednesday night away to Napoli, but he did have them on the pitch together against Livingston yesterday.

But let’s hope that Alfredo focuses in the next few weeks, and is in the headlines for all the right reasons as the games continue to come thick and fast.

I’m sure Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag, feels the same right now about Cristiano Ronaldo.

The veteran striker decided to leave the substitutes bench early on Wednesday night as United defeated Tottenham 2-0.

It was a fine performance from United, many saying it was their best of the season.

But Cristiano dominated the headlines for his act of petulance.

I’m sure his team-mates would have been disappointed in him – and the United fans very angry.

Cristiano has been an outstanding servant to Manchester United, and scored some important goals last season.

But he is a long time out of short trousers, and he should have known better than to behave the way he did.

Everyone should have been talking about how well United played.

Instead, it was all about Ronaldo.

The column inches dedicated to these sort of situations never sit easy with me. I prefer to talk about the positives in our game.

However, we have to address things when players step out of line.

Positive news on the strikers front? Well, for Rangers it has to be the return of Kemar Roofe.

He has been sidelined by injury for a huge chunk of 2022, and has missed some massive games.

There is no doubting the quality he possesses, and if he can stay fit, what an asset he will be for Giovanni and the team.

The Light Blues have a busy schedule in the next few weeks, and it’s vital they have as many players as possible to choose from.

Giovanni knows it hasn’t been good enough recently, with yesterday’s dropped points another low. The Rangers supporters have been making their feelings known.

But this is a time to stick together and be one. It’s not a time to be divided and pulling in different directions.

From the Boardroom to the pitch to the stands, you always have a far better chance of success if there is unity.