Charlie Adam reckons Alfredo Morelos disrespected his team mates and Michael Beale with his petulant reaction to be substituted in the Viaplay Cup Final defeat to Celtic.
The striker walked off at Hampden with a face like thunder before booting water bottles as he made his way across he trackside to the dug out. Morelos was replaced by Antonio Colak for the final 14 minutes having scored the goal which gave the Ibrox side hope 12 minutes earlier. Former Rangers midfielder Adam admits he could understand the frustration the Colombian would have been feeling at the turn of events in the national stadium.But he reckons the scenes did little for team spirit or his image with millions of TV viewers glued to their screens around the world.
Adam said: “Morelos was obviously frustrated because he’d just scored a goal and five minutes later he gets taken off. I also think it’s disrespectful to his teammates. He’s on a worldwide stage with a lot of people watch and it doesn’t look good. It’s not good for the team or the culture within the group.
“Overall I don’t like it. It’s a tough one but I think it’s disrespectful to Michael Beale and Antonio Colak. Alfredo has been a fantastic player for Rangers with the goals he’s scored and I understand his frustration.”
At the other end of the park Celtic hero Kyogo Furuhashi’s star continues to rise after he secured the trophy for the second year in a row with a final double. Adam reckons the Japan international will earn Celtic big money - and insists the Premier League would not be beyond a player who he reckons could potentially replace Jamie Vardy at Leicester.
Speaking to Ice 36 Adam, who last season retired after a spell at Dundee, said: “I’m fortunate enough that I managed to play against him last season. In terms of what he offers, he has terrific movement and energy, you know he can score a goal.
“If Premier League clubs want to sign him, they’ll have to pay big money for him.
“Kyogo is clever enough to be able to adapt in the Premier League. I’m ot sure who’s looking at him but maybe he’s a player Leicester can replace Jamie Vardy with - or even a club like Wolves.
What I will say is, it’ll take a lot of money to get him away from Celtic.
Ange Postecoglou took his trophy collection to three in little over 18 months at Parkhead and Adam wouldn’t be surprised to see the Aussie surpass Neil Lennon and Martin O’Neil if he stays long enough at Celtic Park.
The 37-year-old even seen parallels with Manchester United boss Erik ten Haag. He said: “If Ange keeps winning trophies then of course he’s going to get close to emulating the previous great Celtic managers.
“What I like about him is, he’s calm, he just wants to get on with things. I see similarities with what Erik ten Hag is doing at Man United. When you’re at these big clubs you have to be relentless day-in,day-out. Ange will probably still be disappointed with some things from the cup final but overall he’ll be delighted to win another trophy.”
Adam added: “It looks like the Scottish Cup is probably Rangers’ only real chance of silverware. The gap in the league is big but we’ve still got Old Firms to play for. Anything can happen in Scottish football, anything can happen. But at the moment, you look at Celtic, the way they’re performing and the hunger and mindset of the players is different.
“I expect it to be Celtic v Rangers in the Scottish Cup final and it’ll just be about who can hold their nerve because Celtic will obviously be going for a treble and Michael Beale will be looking for his first piece of silverware. Michael Beale will learn a lot about the players he has with him next season. Where the mindset of the squad is at and he’ll look to see who has enough character about them to bounce back from the defeat.
“Beale will also learn a lot about himself. He’ll be wondering whether he made the right decisions, make the right substitutions. ‘Should I have started with Todd Cantwell?’ These are all questions that will be going through his mind. There’s no doubt he’ll regroup with his squad and go again for the next Old Firm game.”
