Barry Ferguson pinpoints the Rangers warning sign Antonio Colak 'isn't fancied' as he reckons Roofe has stolen a march

Barry Ferguson reckons all the signs are there that Antonio Colak is now Michael Beale's third-choice centre-forward.

But the former Rangers skipper defended the Croatian's record and insisted having both him and Kemar Roofe to come off the bench can only be a positive. Colak started the season as Gio van Bronckhorst's main striker but has found starts hard to come by under Beale with Alfredo Morelos restored to one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Roofe's recent return has limited Colak's minutes further and it was the Jamaica forward substituted on first against Livingston before Colak replaced Morelos for the final 10 minutes. Roofe also got amongst the goals and with Beale waxing lyrical about the experienced striker, Ferguson reckons he may have moved ahead of Colak in the pecking order.

He pointed to Colak's impressive record of 15 goals in 31 Rangers appearances as a defence of the Croatia striker, but told Go Radio it simply has to be Morelos up front against Celtic in Sunday's Viaplay Cup final. He said: "I thought Roofe looked very sharp for the 20 minutes he came on, he looked the part. For me, Sunday, Morelos starts up top.

"In terms of Colak, you don't know if a manager fancies him or not. But from the looks of it, he's putting Roofe on before him in the game against Livingston.

"With Roofe, it will be interesting to see if Rangers can keep him fit for the last part of February then into March, April and May. My only issue with Kemar is having him available for the vast majority of the season. He hasn't been that for Rangers so far.

"You've got two good centre-forwards to come on there in Roofe and Colak. You can't argue with Colak's record, he's scored a few goals but he's struggled with a calf issue.