THEY say managers are finished when they lose the dressing room.
At Rangers right now, it’s their main striker.
Alfredo Morelos has been completely bombed out of the squad by fed-up boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
But it’s the fact the Colombian has been outed by his own team-mates that’s most damning of all.
Players can have fall-outs with their gaffers. I’ve seen it happen and it’s part and parcel of football when two people don’t see eye to eye for whatever reason.
But when senior players in the changing room turn on one of their own, you know a line has been crossed.
I wrote about this in Saturday’s column when I pointed to issues I felt were there with Morelos.
I said the striker had a job on his hands to get back into the team but questioned whether he was willing to fight for his jersey.
Antonio Colak has come in and taken his place in the side.
But instead of getting his head down and proving he’s the best goalscorer at the club, he’s gone the other way.
He’s simply refused to put the work in that’s expected of any professional footballer.
The shape he’s in right now is nothing short of a disgrace.
His attitude is all wrong and everyone at the football club has decided that enough is enough.
Van Bronckhorst and Rangers as a club should be applauded for that.
It’s a risk for any managers to take one of the club’s best players and risk his value in the transfer market.
But Van Bronckhorst clearly had the full backing of the powers that be.
It’s now entirely down to Morelos to fix this problem — IF he wants to fix it.
You have to wonder if this is a case of him working his ticket to get the transfer out of Scotland.
Because his behaviour just isn’t good enough.
I hate referring to a player’s fitness and weight because that’s something I was hit with throughout my own career.
But it’s there for all to see with Morelos.
He’s not just tipping the scales by an extra couple of pounds.
He’s clearly living a life that’s unacceptable for a highly-paid player at one of the biggest clubs in the country. Glasgow is no place to be if you want to go out and about discreetly.
It may be a big city but it’s impossible to go anywhere as a Rangers or Celtic player without being spotted.
And if one of the club’s biggest stars is enjoying the nightlife more than he should be then it’s always going to be found out about.
If you’re going to behave like that then you have to be a model pro at training and in games to stay in shape. And Morelos clearly isn’t.
I didn’t see him out on the pitch running with the other substitutes after the PSV first leg and it was the same after Rangers played St Johnstone.
Does he think he is too special to put in the hard yards?
Well, if he does he’s got another think coming.
Van Bronckhorst isn’t prepared to stand for it any long and neither are his senior team-mates who have had their say.
You can bet the likes of Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson and skipper James Tavernier have all been part of the conversation.
That’s when you know the game is up.
That’s when you know it’s gone too far.
Morelos may never be seen in a Rangers shirt again if you ask me and if there are any supporters who believe he’s been hard done to then they need to waken up.