Steven Gerrard has added plenty of reinforcements to his squad since taking over as the Rangers manager. There were some shouts about the Glaswegian gianta needing a new left-back this season. Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd expressed in August that the Gers should be all over a new left-back instead of adding players in other departments.
Barisic’s woes last season
However, now we are two months into the season, and it feels like Gerrard has taken the right call by not signing a new left-back. Borna Barisic, who was mostly anonymous last season after a summer move, has shown impressive signs so far. The Croatian left-back struggled with injuries in the previous term and never really managed to establish himself as the first-choice option. Gerrard had to deploy Jon Flanagan in that role even though he is a right-back by trade. Andy Halliday also got a fair run in that position even though he is more of a midfielder.
It was clear that the manager didn’t trust Barisic last season. There were even rumours that the manager wasn’t happy with some of his players’ commitment and Barisic was one of the names. However, things have changed for good in the past month as Barisic has put in dominating performances that one would expect from a Croatia international.
Barisic on why he has improved this season
The fullback recently revealed that adjusting to the physicality of Scottish football took some time and injuries also didn’t help him. The 26-year-old said (Daily Record),” The biggest problem was that I was getting injured all the time because it was not easy to adapt from Croatian football to Scottish football.”
“It is more physical here than I expected, and it took time. Now, when I compare the results of my tests when I arrived with those from this season, the difference is unbelievable. I’m a lot stronger. “I know why I didn’t play last year, but that experience has made me stronger, and this year is much different.”
Rangers’ decision to not go for a new left-back proves that sometimes backing a current lot of players can give a club rich dividends, and that is precisely what has happened with Barisic. The Croatian seems to be a ‘confidence player’, and he managed to turn the tide when he scored the winner against St. Mirren via a freekick. Since then, Barisic hasn’t dropped anything below a 7/10 in terms of performance. Gerrard would be glad that the player has managed to showcase his worth. Flanagan is currently out with an injury, but once he comes back, he is likely going to wait for his chance.
