Hat-trick hero Kemar Roofe insists he has nothing to prove in Alfredo Morelos absence as Rangers striker stars in St Mirren rout

Kemar Roofe bagged his first hat-trick for Rangers during Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing of St Mirren then claimed he has nothing to prove in the absence of talisman Alfredo Morelos.

The Ibrox club’s striking dilemma had been a major point of dicussion in the wake of last Thursday’s narrow defeat to Braga in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

With Morelos ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his thigh, the onus has been on Roofe and team-mate Fashion Sakala to fill the void left by the Colombian.

Roofe, who took his tally to 15 goals for the season in Paisley, converted his first treble for the Light Blues since joining from Belgian giants Anderlecht in August 2020.

Asked if his hat-trick against the Buddies proved he could step up while Morelos is sidelined, the 29-year-old said: “I think I have proved it already. That’s regardless of the game against St Mirren or the last game.

“I have been here for nearly two years and I feel that I have proved this already.

“I’ve always wanted a hat-trick here. I’ve been desperate for it and I finally got it. As long as I make my run and make sure I have done my bit I can trust the delivieres and focus on my connection, and it worked.”

The victory moved Rangers back to within six points of Premiership leaders Celtic ahead of this Sunday’s intringuing Scottish Cup semi-final.

Roofe believes there are areas of his game he can still improve on as he outlined the importance of remaining hot on the heels of their city rivals in the title race.

He added: “I wasn’t pleased as I still feel like I’ve got more to come. Match fitness will play a bit part in that, so I’m not happy with a few things but I can’t be too fussy - I scored three goals and we won the game.

“It was very important to get 1-0 up early to settle the crowd, then we could play, be patient, keep moving the ball about and take our chances.

“The second goal was massively important as well. That decides the momentum of the game and we got that.

“We had to make a few changes at half-time and throughout but we kept the high level and kept scoring.

“It was a difficult game it is always is at this place. The pitch is fast and it’s a bit bobbly but we managed it. We knew St Mirren would put up a good fight but we managed to break them down and get the goals.”