STEVEN GERRARD reckons striker Alfredo Morelos is heading into a ‘huge’ season as he prepares for his third campaign at Rangers.

Morelos followed up his goal in the first leg win over St Joseph’s last week with a hat-trick in the return fixture at Ibrox on Thursday evening.

Gerrard then saw Jermain Defoe step off the bench and strike twice as Rangers clinched a 6-0 victory.

Both forwards are vying for one central starting spot going into the new Premiership campaign.

And Gerrard is pleased to have a very welcome selection headache to solve this term.

“We hope it’s a huge season ahead for him, from a personal point of view and for us,” Gerrard said of Morelos. “He is a top, top striker.

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“He got a bit of a niggle in pre-season, which set him back a little bit, but he has been in full training for quite a while now and he is looking better each day.

“The hat-trick will do his confidence the world of good. It’s great to have two top 9s to pick from.

“They will both want to play every minute of every game, but I don’t think it’s realistic to ask a player to play Thursday-Sunday all the way to Christmas if we have a strong European run.

“I think both players are experienced and bright enough to realise that it’s about the squad and not about any one individual.

“Of course it will be a challenge for me every game, who to pick and when to pick them. One is young, 22, and one is 36, so they are at different ends of their career.

“But one thing’s for sure: they have both got an awful lot to offer this team and squad over the next 12 months and that’s the most important thing for me, that they both stay fit, healthy and available for selection.”