Halkett told Press Association Sport: "Ryan's been brilliant since he came back into the team. It's been like having a new signing these past four weeks.

"We were all looking forward to having him back this season after his performances on loan last year but he got the injury and he's had to work so hard to get back fit.

"But now that he's clear of that he's just doing what he always does – scoring goals. Sometimes you look at his performances and think he's not done much over the 90 minutes – but then he'll pop up in the last 10 or 15 minutes and get a goal or two like he did against Hearts.

"His loan is up next month so I imagine the club will be doing everything they can to keep Ryan until the end of the season because he could be a massive player for us."

But former Gers Academy graduate Halkett has no doubt if Gerrard does decide to whisk Hardie back to Glasgow, the frontman can make his mark at Ibrox.

"He might also have done enough to suggest to Steven Gerrard that he's worth a recall," he said. "He's scored four goals in four starts for us and that's an impressive strike rate.

"Whether he goes or not is a question for the people at Rangers but I think he's more than capable of going back to Ibrox and doing a job for them.

"As players, it's not our job to worry about these things but we'd obviously love it if he stayed here a little longer.

"I'm sure he'd continue to score a lot of goals for us but Ryan has got to do what's best for him and if he thinks going back to Rangers is the best thing for his career then we can't argue.

"Ryan's scored goals and done well before in the Championship while on different loans but he hadn't managed to do it in the brief opportunities he had been given by Rangers in the top flight.

"However, he's been given the chance to prove himself against the best defenders in Scotland recently and he's hushed all the doubters with the way he's played.

"To be honest he never really let any of those critics get him down. I've known him quite a while now and he's such a laid back guy. He never lets all that stuff bother him as he knows himself he has got the ability.

"He was at Rangers when I joined at 14 and he's always been the same, if he goes one-on-one with the goalie you know you can put your mortgage on him scoring."

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