STEVEN GERRARD took the words from Alfredo Morelos on board and believed he was in the right place to perform for Rangers. He still wanted to see it with his own eyes, though, as he honed in on his star striker in training.

Morelos has had plenty to contend with on and off the park in recent times as he continues to make the headlines, both on the front pages and the back, for a variety of reasons.

He returned to the starting line-up after a three-game ban against Aberdeen on Saturday and missed a golden chance as Rangers dropped two points.

On Sunday, it was reported that his wife had hired the man - a private investigator - he found 'tampering' with his car outside his home. Both he and his partner, Yesenia, have now denied that was the case.

And on Monday Morelos claimed he had been the victim of racist abuse as he opened up on life in Scotland, his disciplinary issues, his past and his future.

As Gerrard put his players through their paces at the Hummel Training Centre, one man was foremost in his thoughts once again.

“I am not available to comment on private stuff that happens between Alfredo and his wife and off the field stuff,” Gerrard said. “I have spoken to him in terms of where he is at and where he is focused and he has assured me that he is fine and ready to play.

“I had that conversation with him before Aberdeen and I have since had that conversation with him again as well. I am not going to be a manager that gets involved in players’ private matters and what they do away from the training ground unless they want my support or my advice.

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“Certain individuals are different. I’d be different to Steve Davis, Davis would be different to Alfredo.

“What I would say is that Alfredo is the type of person who can switch pretty quickly into football mode. [On Monday] in training I watched him extremely closely in training. I’d say I watched him for 90% of the session and he seemed fine.”

The furore around Morelos is a test of Gerrard's man management but the 39-year-old has had plenty of experience when it comes to dealing with the striker.

The recollections of the abuse he has suffered made for depressing reading, while Morelos was also thankful for the help Gerrard has given him improving his behaviour.

“Yes, because I am aware of the noise in and around some of his private stuff,” Gerrard said when asked about watching Morelos. “It is very important that I watch him closely to see where he is at but he didn’t give me any impression that it is affecting his football. He trained exceptionally well.

“I thought at the weekend he did everything he could. He obviously had the two really big moments in the game and they didn’t come off for him but that could be on the back of missing the previous couple of weeks with injury and suspension.

“It is a difficult one to judge on the weekend showing which is why I watched him pretty closely [on Monday]. He seemed fine and was smiling away. I had a chat with him during the session and he tells me he is focused so I have to give him that level of trust.”

Having passed Gerrard's test and proven himself ready for action, Morelos will lead the line when Rangers host Hibernian this evening.

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The 23-year-old insisted this week he would not be forced out of Ibrox by the treatment he has received at times and Rangers need him to keep doing what he does best.

“I hope not because we love working with Alfredo," Gerrard said when asked if Morelos could be driven from Rangers as a result of the storm that seems to continually surround him. "He’s a fantastic player.

“I know I’m always going to be biased towards him but I think he brings something to this league. He makes the league a lot more exciting, so I hope not. I know he feels strongly about these issues.

“My advice to Alfredo is to continue to be strong - we’re here for him if he needs that support - and to continue to do what he does best, which is scoring goals and making our supporters happy.”