STEVEN GERRARD is confident Jermain Defoe has years left in him at the top level as he backs the striker to play his part in Rangers’ quest for silverware next season.

Defoe moved north of the border from Bournemouth in January and netted his sixth goal for the Light Blues during the win over Hearts on Wednesday night.

The Cherries have two recall clauses in the deal but Defoe is committed to Gerrard’s side.

The form of Alfredo Morelos has made it difficult for the 36-year-old to establish himself at Ibrox but he now has a chance to have a run in the team as the Colombian sits out the next three games of his ban.

Gerrard has no doubt that his former England team-mate can have a key role both this season and next, regardless of whether Morelos remains with the Gers beyond the end of the campaign.

He said: “I think the key is that you are looking at a body that is defying the odds. He is a young body. He has never had a sip of alcohol in his life. He is an educated player. He loves the game and you can speak to him around the clock about football. That tells you how he lives his life.

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“He has been impeccable around the training ground since he walked in. After training sessions, he is pulling Josh McPake and young Dapo (Mebude) and doing an extra 10 or 15 minutes with them from a coaching side.

“He is not being asked to do that. He actually wants to give back to these young, up and coming strikers.

“That is gold-dust for us as a staff to have players like Jermain and Gareth McAuley around. Whatever he is doing, his standards are at Rangers-level. And that’s another reason we wanted to bring him in.

“Obviously for the goals and the player he is, but also the person. He has been outstanding.

“There are a lot of reasons why he maybe hasn’t had as much game time. Obviously, when Alfredo is scoring freely it is difficult because I do favour playing with the one. That’s not to say I won’t use two times but, in the main, I think we have played better with one up there.

“But moving forward, if I get the right people around Jermain, I think he can do that job as a single no.9. Against Hearts, we didn’t play with wide men that might leave him isolated.

“Other players maybe have to adapt when Jermain is in the team and we maybe have to tweak our style, because he is different to Alfredo and Laff (Kyle Lafferty).

“But I have no doubt that if he shows what he did the other night then there will be more opportunities for him.”