Calum Butcher welcomes Rangers fight with Morelos or Colak as Motherwell star reveals thinking behind '66' squad number

Steelman Calum Butcher admits the physical battle has always got his blood pumping on the football pitch. And they don’t come much more bruising than an afternoon trying to keep Alfredo Morelos quiet.

The hard-tackling Motherwell star helped put the shackles on Morelos and Rangers twice last season as his only two appearances against the Ibrox side for Dundee United ended in a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw. And he knows bodies will need to be put on the line this afternoon if his new club are to stretch their four-game unbeaten run under Stuart Kettlewell when Gers arrive at Fir Park.

Well warrior Butcher is relishing his new role in the centre of the Steelmen’s defence since arriving last month from Burton Albion. After years chasing midfielders he’s now charged with stopping the best strikers in the league. And whether Morelos or Antonio Colak starts, Butcher knows this afternoon is about to hit a new level of tough.

Butcher said: “I really enjoy it in defence and see myself playing there for the next few years hopefully. It probably helps me having played midfield and then going back. You see things differently. In midfield, everything can pass you by. At the back, you can read things a bit better.

“It has been part of my game my whole career, that physical side of it. I think back there you probably get a bit more of a physical battle if you are playing against different kinds of strikers. It’s a side of the game that I enjoy and in Scottish football is a massive part of the game.

“Has Morelos left his mark on me before? Possibly. With VAR I don’t know if he will get away with it now. Of course you want to play against the best players in the league and see how well you can do against them.

“I think Morelos and Colak are