Rangers: Jermain Defoe 'hungry as a 17-year-old' - Steven Gerrard
- Published
Steven Gerrard says Jermain Defoe will start again against Hearts on Sunday
Jermain Defoe is "as hungry now as he was when he was 17", says Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, after the veteran striker's goal sank St Mirren.
Defoe has started the last two games during Alfredo Morelos' ban - also scoring against Stranraer on Friday.
Rangers will again be without Morelos for Sunday's trip to face Hearts and Defoe will start once more.
"JD has been big for us," Gerrard said after the 37-year-old former England striker's 16th goal of the season.
"Two starts on the spin and two goals. He's a predator in the box. It's the reason why I brought him in.
"We'll rest him up and have him ready for Hearts because he's been to Hearts before and scored goals and let's hope he can do the same at the weekend."
Gerrard did not have another striker on the bench against St Mirren but was pleased with on-loan Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo's performance as a substitute.
"That's the most positive I've seen him for quite some time, so hopefully he is going to kick into a bit of form, because we're going to need him," he said.
Gerrard was "delighted" with a win that keeps Rangers two points behind leaders Celtic with a game in hand despite the narrow scoreline against the side sitting third bottom of the table.
"In terms of the outcome and result, it gets us closer to where we want to be, six wins on the spin," he said. "So I'm positive, I'm happy.
"I understand some of the frustration around the fans and the players, not scoring three or four. Over the course of the season, it's not going to be perfect in every game."
Rangers also only managed to dispose of League One winners Stranraer 2-0 in Friday's Scottish Cup tie and Gerrard admitted "we're still trying to find top gear".
"But it's a win, a clean sheet, we were defensively very sound," he said. "We could have killed the game off, but it wasn't to be.
"We expected St Mirren to come with that formation, to try to stay in the game as long as they could. We always knew, if the scoreline wasn't out of reach, that they would show more ambition late on.
"It left gaps and we maybe should have capitalised. But we'll take the win and move on."