STEVEN Gerrard has told record-equalling Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos the Ibrox club need him to maintain his form up front as they bid to reach the Europa League knockout rounds and win the Premiership.

Morelos came off the bench to net the winner against Lech Poznan on Thursday night - and draw level with Ally McCoist at the top of the Glasgow outfit’s all-time European scoring charts with 21 goals.

Gerrard left the Colombian internationalist out of his starting line-up for the Premiership match against Livingston last Sunday and against Lech because he felt he needed a rest.

The former Liverpool and England midfielder now has four available forwards – Jermain Defoe, Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe are also vying for a start.

However, the Rangers manager, speaking ahead of the league game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park this afternoon, feels having Morelos performing at his best is crucial to his side’s chances of success at home and abroad.

“It’s my job when I see players having a bit of a dip or looking tired to try to freshen them up and take them out of the firing line,” he said. “We felt as a group of staff that Alfredo needed that.

“He’d played a lot of football, he’s been away travelling to Colombia, he’s recently had his family move back over. He had a lot going on. He was involved in a lot of speculation around his future.

“We felt it was the right time to take him out of the XI for a couple of games to freshen him up and hopefully it will help him. It did on Thursday night.

“But now we need him to build on that 30 minutes and try to get him back to his best form because that will be a huge help for us in the team.

“Having fit and healthy forwards in good form certainly helps to win football matches. But you’ve also got to keep the rest of your squad in a good place. There are two sides to the game, defending and attacking, so it’s important we try to keep everyone fresh and hungry.”