GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST has backed Alfredo Morelos to go from strength to strength after marking his Rangers return with a goal against Kilmarnock.
The striker was given a rapturous welcome by the Ibrox crowd as he made his first appearance in five months and replaced summer signing Antonio Colak.
The Croatian had put Van Bronckhorst's side on course for a deserved victory with a fine finish early in the second half to open his account for Rangers.
But it was Morelos that emerged as the man of the moment as he pulled on his boots for the first time since sustaining the thigh injury that brought a premature end to his campaign last term.
The 26-year-old could now be tasked with firing Rangers into the Champions League play-offs as they attempt to overcome a two goal deficit against Union Saint-Gilloise on Tuesday night.
Rangers have plenty of room for improvement in the final third and the return of Morelos could be the spark that is needed as Van Bronckhorst's side get up to speed this season.
Van Bronckhorst said: "It is his first minutes for Rangers after five months. If you think about it, it is a really long time and almost half a year.
"It was good to have him in the squad. You can see what he brings, not only to the squad but also the way the fans treated him when he came on.
"That is also what you have when he plays and he is always capable of scoring goals.
"For him, I think these first minutes of the season and after five months was very important and I am sure he will only get stronger with each game that he is going to be involved.
"I think we will improve in those [forward] areas, for sure. We have many new players in and it is also adjusting to the new system for them and different teammates.
"We had two clear chances maybe with the goals we scored but in the first five minutes we came through their defence quite a lot and were a bit unlucky not score earlier.
"As long as we keep working hard in training and keep trying to create as many chances as we can, I think we will improve with each game we play."
