BORNA GAIN
Barisic went from uncertain Ibrox addition to prized asset for boss Gerrard with one sweep of his left boot that did for doughty Saints
STEVEN GERRARD will always feel the making of Borna Barisic occurred on a sunny afternoon in Paisley. In one instant against St Mirren, the Croatian left-back planted a seed that has bloomed into an increasingly impressive season.
Barisic is now clearly established as an indispensable influence on Rangers as the clubs prepare to meet again in tonight’s return to Premiership business at Ibrox.
Talks over a new contract are progressing, with Gerrard hopeful of a positive conclusion that might deter Roma or any other admirer of the 27-year-old from pressing ahead with transfer interest.
That counts as deserved reward for his progress over the past five months. When Rangers travelled to face St Mirren on Sunday, August 25, Barisic’s position was far less secure.
Doubt over his suitability for Scottish football lingered after an underwhelming debut season marked by injuries and a lack of confidence.
People still questioned whether he could really be trusted when the crunch moments arrived.
Barisic chose that day to provide a first, crucial answer. Rangers had toiled for almost an hour to find a way through dogged and disciplined opponents before being awarded a free-kick, 25 yards from goal and just right of centre.
A three-step run-up preceded Barisic making a perfect connection with his left boot. The ball curled high past Vaclav Hladky and the £1.5million signing from Osijek hurdled the advertising hoardings to accept the acclaim of the travelling support.
Gerrard feels everything that has followed stemmed from that match-winning intervention. It was a breakthrough that began the transformation of Barisic from uncertain addition into a prized asset and key component of a burgeoning title challenge.
‘At a club like this you need big players to provide big moments of quality and Borna delivered in the last game against St Mirren,’ reflected Gerrard. ‘I think that was the making of Borna in many ways because it gave him a lot of self-belief and confidence. It shows what a big goal can do.
‘When you are at a club this size or any club that is close to this size, the first thing you have to do is win your team-mates over and prove that you are going to help them.
‘When we make new signings, sometimes that takes longer. And you have also got to take into consideration that he is moving country for the first time, he is away from a lot of his family.
‘Some people take to it like a duck to water, some take a longer time. But the club have done everything we can to try and help.
‘Sometimes it is something that happens on the field that gets you accepted in the dressing room and makes the fans come over even more and I think that has been the situation with Borna.
‘I do actually think the St Mirren goal was such a big moment for him personally and his consistency levels from there have been outstanding.’
Gerrard revealed during Rangers’ training camp in Dubai earlier this month that preliminary contract talks had been opened with Barisic. Those discussions have stepped up since returning to Scotland last week.
‘We are in talks, so it is getting closer as the days go by,’ said Gerrard. ‘Ross (Wilson, sporting director) is speaking to Borna’s representation and when there is some news on it I will give it to you. But, yeah, talks are ongoing.
‘I am confident because the boy is happy. I have got a fantastic relationship with Borna where we communicate a lot. He seems really happy and settled here and he is really enjoying it.
‘Obviously he took a bit of time to settle but he has got the fans right where you want them as a player and they are right behind him.
‘He is getting the support from the terraces that he deserves and that his performances deserve. I think when you are happy as a footballer you should stay put.’
Moving St Mirren’s players out of position will be the challenge at Ibrox this evening. Saints boss Jim Goodwin has quipped that he might park ‘two buses’ across their goal in a bid to frustrate Rangers.
Gerrard accepts that is their right. With Sunday’s trip to
Tynecastle the only away fixture in their next five, he knows his side will have to show their adeptness at unpicking deep-lying defences determined to deny space.
Prising open a gap — or finding a bit of individual excellence like Barisic did — will be the key to maintaining the title momentum created by their Old Firm victory prior to the winter break.
‘St Mirren didn’t really open up against us at their place either,’ said Gerrard, who arranged a bounce game against Queen of the South last Saturday to boost the readiness of players not involved in the previous evening’s Scottish Cup win over Stranraer.
‘I think we take it as a compliment in many ways that people respect our quality and our threat. We see it as a challenge. St Mirren are going to set us a challenge for 90 minutes.
‘They will set themselves up and say to us: “Come and beat us, the pressure is on you”. We respect that. I thought they were outstanding in the last fixture and there were moments in that game when you are thinking maybe two points could have been taken away from us because of their organisation and shape.
‘There is a lot more confidence and self-belief within the group now and we accept these challenges when teams come to Ibrox and show these tactics. That is just the way it is, that is life and we have to get on with it.
‘We have to keep practising on the training pitch and hopefully we can get some success over the next couple of weeks.
‘We are going to need to if we have any ambitions of staying up there challenging at the top.’