Michael Beale has come out and defended Alfredo Morelos as he provided positive injury news on John Souttar and Ianis Hagi.
The Light Blues boss previously revealed the Colombian has been playing through the pain barrier and now he has delivered another public backing for the hitman. He's come under scrutiny from a number of ex-professionals and pundits recently with his fitness levels once again coming into question. He missed two huge chances against Celtic at Ibrox in the four-goal thriller.
Antonio Colak - who was signed by Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the summer - is back in the fold as if fellow striker Kemar Roofe after periods on the sidelines with injuries. Rangers are on the road to Dundee United this weekend as the new boss bids to maintain his unbeaten start in the dugout after four wins and one draw. Speaking about the hitman in his pre-match press conference, he said: "I know what Alfredo is going through to play through one or two knocks, some players would struggle to play through this. I can see how hard he is working."
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Souttar and Hagi have both returned to contact training in a major boost to the Ibrox side. Both have spent long periods on the recovery table and are now stepping up their bids for a long-awaited top team return.
Beale added: "Since [Connor] Goldson and [Ben] Davies have returned we look a lot stronger. Souttar back in training today and King doing well so we look stronger. As we get people back, the form will come.
"I was really pleased to see Souttar back in training. We took a little bit longer to get to the bottom of his issues and hopefully he can now stay fit. Even today on his first session back he showed his strengths
"By the end of the month, hopefully, we will see Hagi and Souttar return to the team - both are now in contact training.
[Filip] "Helander is a fantastic player who has sadly been unable to show it with injuries recently. At this moment in time, he has to focus on his rehab and at 29, he still has a future ahead of him. He is in here every day working hard.
"Tom Lawrence was away seeing a specialist yesterday, he has had a little discomfort. At this moment in time, we just need to wait on an update for this one."
On potential incomings, he added: "I want to sit in front of any potential players and look into his eyes. I want to meet a player and tell them exactly what I want and the role we want them to play. Any players recruited are here to do a specific job for our squad.
"Anyone coming in we want to fit into our squad, I am a development coach and I want to grow players. I only want people coming in who want to drive themselves forward, you have to want to improve."
"Our recruitment side here is very strong, no player will arrive without input from the manager and I will work closely with the recruitment team."
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