Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed he detected a changed attitude from Alfredo Morelos in his sit-down talks with the Rangers striker.
The Gers boss was speaking after the 3-1 Premier Sports Cup last-16 win over Queen of the South at Ibrox where Scott Arfield grabbed a double for the much-changed home side, with 18-year-old striker Robbie Ure scoring on his debut.
Morelos, serving a second game of a two-match ban, was left out of the Rangers squad to face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League play-off game due to fitness levels and other concerns, including his attitude.
Bronckhorst promised to speak with him after Saturday’s 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Ross County at Ibrox.
He said: “I had a good chat with him on Sunday. He had a good week to train but also to think about his future.
“I had a good talk with him. As I said before, he is still a Rangers player.
“I think he is going to be important for us in the next months and this season.
“I saw a change in his attitude, the way he worked. He has to keep continue working like this for the next coming months to be the player he can be – and a player who can give us a lot.”
Asked about adding to his squad before the transfer window closes on Thursday, the Dutchman said: “I’m relaxed. There is still a couple of days.
“You never know what is happening in those days and you have to be prepared.
“At the moment, I think this is the squad we are going to have.
“As I mentioned before, we created this squad to be competitive and reach the Champions League as well, which they did. I’m quite relaxed.”
Van Bronckhorst brought in a whole new line-up for the last-16 tie against the cinch League One Doonhamers, with Ure driving in with a help of a deflection after nine minutes only for Lee Connelly to hit a stunning equaliser soon afterwards.
Midfielder Arfield put Rangers ahead again midway through the first half and scored his second with five minutes remaining in a game which saw Zak Lovelace, Paul Nsio and Archie Stevens, all 16, make their debuts.
Queen of the South boss Willie Gibson was pleased with the performance of his side overall.
He said: “It was enjoyable in parts and frustrating in other parts.
“I think the first goal summed it up. We asked the players for a good start and to try and contain Rangers and to give such a cheap goal away was disappointing but the way the boys reacted and got themselves back into the game means we can take a lot from that.
“I said to the boys these are the places that you want to come and play.
“The way the boys took on board what I wanted do was pleasing.
“We didn’t just come and try to play the game long, we tried to play out and sometimes that was our downfall because sometimes we played too much but we asked them to be brave on the ball and I can’t fault their efforts.”
