Ladbrokes Premiership: Rangers 2 Aberdeen 0
RANGERS boss Graeme Murty has warned Alfredo Morelos' English suitors they will have to spend big if they want to prise the Colombian away from Ibrox.
The striker sent Gers on their way to a 2-0 win over Aberdeen with his 13th goal of the season.
Murty admitted the little poacher should have grabbed a hat-trick after missing a couple of golden chances to punish Derek McInnes' men further.
But even so, the Light Blues manager is convinced Rangers have something special on their hands and are not willing to let him go cheaply.
"Unless someone walks in with a barrowload of cash – and a big barrowload – he will be a Rangers player," said Murty after being asked about quotes attributed to Morelos on Colombian TV about whether he would welcome a move to the Premier League this summer.
"I want players who have aspirations to be in a better place. Hopefully we can get better at Rangers.
"But the big prize is to play in the Premier League. You can safeguard your family's future with one move. If we have someone good enough to go there, it's fantastic for us."
Murty gave new recruits Sean Goss, Jamie Murphy and Russell Martin their first starts, while Jason Cummings made his debut off the bench.
And that injection of fresh energy did wonders for the Ibrox men as they proved too strong for the Dons.
Morelos wasted a golden chance early on when he headed wide but made no mistake as he nodded home on 32 minutes from James Tavernier's cross.
Tavernier then added the crucial second from the spot 10 minutes from time after Joe Lewis had hauled down Josh Windass, although Rangers number one Wes Foderingham had to bail out his side with a string of saves late on.
With Hamilton midfielder Greg Docherty set to complete a £675,000 move on Thursday, Murty is optimistic about his side's prospects for the rest of the campaign after leap-frogging Aberdeen into second.
"You saw glimpses of the team we're hoping to be," he said. "Movement and passing was crisp, the new players gave us a lift.
"Wes was outstanding. I said in the dressing room we owed him a debt and the players give him a round of applause.
"We have to improve. As good as it was, we will get better.
"The players we have in the building are pushing us to be better. That's really exciting for me and should be exciting for Rangers fans."
McInnes was making his first appearance at Ibrox since knocking back the Gers job last month.
But he admitted his side failed to show up.
"I thought Rangers asked more questions of us," said the Dons boss, who fears Lewis may have suffered a serious injury after being rushed to hospital following his collision with Windass in the penalty incident.
"We're guilty of not doing more in the game, not converting those four or five real clear-cut chances.
"Rangers were the clear favourites for second at the start of the season but we fell short of what we're capable of.
"If we reach the levels we can, we can still finish second."
