Watch Hamilton v Rangers - live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event - from 1pm on Sunday
Saturday 20 October 2018 12:23, UK
Steven Gerrard is ready to throw Umar Sadiq a Rangers lifeline after revealing he has improved his previously suspect temperament.
The Rangers manager gave a scathing assessment of the on-loan Roma striker after his summer arrival when he insisted last month the 21-year-old needed to improve "everything".
Gerrard told Nigeria U23 international Sadiq he would need to "come to the party" if he wanted to stand a chance of replacing suspended frontman Alfredo Morelos and the Colombian's cup-tied deputy Kyle Lafferty in next week's Betfred Cup semi-final showdown with Aberdeen.
Those words of criticism left many believing that Sadiq - who has played just 26 minutes of competitive action to date this season - might not have much more of a part to play this season.
But Gerrard says the striker has shown he wants to contribute and could even take Lafferty's place on the bench for Sunday's clash with Hamilton.
Lafferty misses out as Northern Ireland invoked FIFA's five-day rule after he missed their recent internationals against Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Gerrard said: "Umar has shown that improvement. He's been working very hard. He's got his head down, he's improved a lot.
"His application has improved, his quality has improved so he's given me something to think about for the future.
"I don't know [if the warning has sparked the change], that's something you'd have to ask Umar. But sometimes when a manager is honest with you, sometimes you have to go away and self-reflect.
"If you're a proper footballer you go analyse and come back stronger."
Watch Hamilton v Rangers on Sunday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Football at Sky Sports Main Event and 1pm.
