COLIN STEIN knows all about hitting the ground running. As starts go, the one he made to his Rangers career couldn’t have been much better.

Now he hopes current Ibrox marksman Alfredo Morelos can build on his encouraging opening to life in Light Blue and continue to lead the way for Pedro Caixinha’s side this term.

Stein moved from Hibernian in 1968 and immediately endeared himself to supporters as he netted a hat-trick in the league match with Arbroath at Gayfield.

That was followed up with another three strikes on his Ibrox bow against Hibernian as the Gers recorded a 6-1 win.

And just days later Stein completed a remarkable run by netting a brace in the Fairs Cup success away to Dundalk.

It was the start of a glorious Gers career for the striker as he went on to become a Light Blues legend.

The chances of Morelos following in his footsteps and firing Rangers to European glory are slim but the Colombian has made his own impression on the Ibrox crowd so far this term.

After getting off and running with a double against Dunfermline, the 21-year-old hit six goals in his next four outings as he emerged as a key part of Caixinha’s attack.

The form of Morelos has been one of the main positives for the Portuguese to take from a mixed start to the campaign for his side.

And Barca Bear Stein is pleased to see the forward quickly making a name for himself following his summer switch from HJK Helsinki.

He told SportTimes: “It is great for a striker to come into a club and score goals straight away.

“It gets the crowd on your side from the off, it gives you lots of confidence and it is very rewarding for you to come into a team and score goals. Your new team-mates find out about you as well.

“If a striker has got confidence, he isn’t afraid to try things, he gets his shots away quicker, he takes less touches.

“When you don’t have that belief in your game, you take extra touches and that gives a defender a chance to clear his lines.

“Confidence has a big part to play. You have got to have ability, obviously, but you need that confidence if you are going to score goals.

“If you get the backing of your team-mates, that is half the battle. You have to get the ammunition to score goals so you need them to trust you.

“You can be the best striker in the world, but if you don’t get the service you need then you won’t score goals.

“You have got to have your team-mates on your side so it is important to prove yourself early on and show what you can do.”

Morelos arrived at Ibrox as an unknown quantity after a short stint in Finland but he has wasted little time in showcasing his talents for Rangers.

He was denied a goal on his Old Firm debut after a superb stop from Craig Gordon and was then left frustrated against Partick Thistle and Hamilton Accies.

But Stein reckons Morelos has already shown enough to suggest there could be plenty more to come from him in his first campaign at Ibrox.

He said: “I have been impressed with him. He has got a good work rate and a terrific shot.

“He has started well, although he was a bit unfortunate against Celtic. If he had scored that day, that would have been great for him.

“But if he gets the chances, I think he will take them more often than not this season.

“For any team in the world, if you have a striker that can get 20 or 25 goals, then you are worth your weight in gold.

“If you get more than that, brilliant. But if you can get to that 20 or 25 mark then that is a big factor for a team.

“Rangers had two great strikers in McCoist and Hateley who didn’t start off and running but they became two of the best forwards that Rangers have had.

“If you get off to a good start and get the fans on your side, that means a lot to you. It is important for a foreign guy that is coming in and learning the language.

“He can do his talking on the field. There is a language barrier there but if you score goals that speaks for itself.”

With eight goals to his credit so far this season, Morelos is well on his way to taking the top scorer bragging rights at Ibrox this term.

He will look to add to his tally when Caixinha’s side face St Johnstone on Friday night as Rangers bid for back-to-back wins in the top flight.

And Stein hopes the trip to Perth will provide the Light Blues with a platform for a sustained run of Premiership form in the coming weeks.

Stein said: “It is a hard place to go and St Johnstone are always a formidable team. But Rangers are a better team than St Johnstone and they have got to go up there and show that.

“If they could get four or five wins, that would be great. That kind of run is what they need.

“They have got to keep winning games, it is as simple as that. We will see about Aberdeen but Celtic don’t look like they will slip-up.

“I am sure Celtic will win most of their games so Rangers need to keep winning if they don’t want that gap to get any bigger.”