Ally McCoist has said that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard should consider keeping striker Alfredo Morelos out of the side to give the Colombian a ‘shock to the system’ in a bid to improve his disciplinary record.

The South American, who has been a talisman at Ibrox with his goals, is on the sidelines once again for the red card he picked up against fierce rivals Celtic, Scott Brown antagonising the forward who retaliated by swinging his elbow into the face of the Bhoys’ captain.

Having seen Morelos sent off time and again, McCoist has suggested that keeping Jermain Defoe in the side even when his striking counterpart returns from his ban, might be the kick up the backside the hot headed ace needs to change his ways.

What has been said?

Morelos has come under fire from all corners of Ibrox, including the manager’s dugout, and beyond for his behaviour and McCoist insists that strong action is needed to ensure he learns.

He told the Scottish Sun: “Will Morelos be an automatic pick when he comes back now? I would have to say ‘No’. I hope it’s the case in any Rangers team that no one just comes back in. The first thing you do is give the manager a coaching decision to make. From what I saw at the weekend, it’s a far bigger decision than it was.

“When he’s played, the vast majority of the time Morelos has been excellent. But through his own stupidity, he’s now given another couple of lads an opportunity. Would the hardest way to hit him be to drop him? Absolutely. That would be the biggest shock to his system but there’s no point doing it to the detriment of the team.”

If Morelos did not have competition to be leading the line, Gerrard would be left with little choice but to reinstate Morelos on his return, but having a player of Defoes experience and calibre at his disposal, he could well make that tough decision and keep Morelos disappointed for a couple more weeks.

What would happen?

Provided Morelos did not sulk on the bench and understood why he was being kept out of the side, such a bold move could prove to be a masterstroke for Gerrard and Rangers.

If axing him for a couple of weeks is the spark which ignites Morelos to think about his attitude on the pitch, then it would be brilliant for the Gers and could well catapult the club to the next level.

After all, imagine where the Light Blues would be had they not been forced to play without 10 men so often and had their talisman of a striker firing goals in on a regular basis.

They would be a lot closer to Celtic at the top of the table – maybe McCoist’s bold suggestion could be the catalyst to take Rangers to where they want to be.