Roofe scored a brace and gave ample proof of his talents in Rangers’ 4-1 win over Celtic in the Old Firm derby at the weekend.
Rangers signed the forward from Anderlecht last summer and he has been a good addition to the squad, scoring 16 goals in all competitions for the club this season.
Hartson does not believe that Roofe’s quality was ever in doubt as playing a central role for Leeds, where he scored 16 times in his single season under Marcelo Bielsa, could not have happened it he was not top notch.
But he conceded that Roofe had to bide his time this season at Rangers as he was not always an automatic pick when Gerrard was selecting his team for the big games.
Hartson said on the Go Radio Football Show: “Kemar is a good player by the way.
“You don’t play for clubs like Leeds and then go to Anderlecht [if you are not good].
“Steven Gerrard had done his due diligence on him and he would have watched him.
“To be fair, he has had to be patient at times, I think, as in the games he would go with [Alfredo[ Morelos, he would go with [Ryan] Kent, maybe [Joe] Aribo or [Ianis] Hagi.
“He’s had to be patient, he has not played every game.”
The competition for places in the Rangers frontline is set to get even stiffer as Zambian striker Fashion Sakala will join the club in the summer.
