One Borna any minute! Barisic primed to fly back to Croatia for birth of first child
I’m excited. Everyone tells us it will be a big change in our lives
ANYONE lingering around the corridors of Rangers’ training ground this week will do so at their own risk.
There is every chance that their very well-being may be threatened by a figure bolting towards the exit door en route to Glasgow Airport.
With his wife Anja awaiting the birth of their first child — a boy — back home in Croatia, father-to-be Borna Barisic’s existence in the coming days will be one of limbo.
‘I hope everything will go well,’ he said. ‘It is our first child and I’m very excited and happy.
‘Everyone tells us it will be a big change in our lives but I’ll still not know until the baby is here.’
An anxious enough time for any prospective parent, Barisic feels the distance between him and his spouse of late hasn’t had any bearing on the sense of nervous excitement.
‘In one way it is (harder) because you need to think about it a lot as it’s our first baby,’ said Barisic. ‘I’m separated from Anja and it’s not easy for me or her. But that’s part of my job.
‘In one way it’s harder but in another way I’m very motivated and excited. I’m planning to go home for the birth as she is due this week.’
That makes his availability to feature against Motherwell on Saturday far from certain.
In that regard, Michael Beale will be comforted by the 24 minutes he afforded Ridvan Yilmaz from the bench against Raith Rovers on Sunday — the Turk’s first involvement since October.
‘We will see how things go and then we will decide,’ said Barisic of his chances of playing at Fir Park. ‘Listen, competition is always good. I’m happy that Ridvan has come back, he’s a good player and in every position we need competition as that’s very healthy for the team when you have players competing in training and then to play in the games.
‘If you want to win trophies it’s very important to have a big, deep squad with very good players.’
Barisic has no intention of his impending exile being anything other than short term.
In good time, the plan is for his expanded family to return and live in Glasgow. With his contract running until next year, the city will remain his home for the foreseeable future.
‘I’m happy here,’ added the 30-year-old. ‘That’s very important to me. I’m settled, which is also affecting my performances on the pitch.
‘What will happen in the future? We will see. You never know in football, I never want to say I will stay or I will leave because you never know and then people say you lied before when you spoke a few months ago.
‘So I don’t want to talk about that. The most important thing is that I’m very focused here and very happy.’
With seven first-team players out of contract and Malik Tillman set to return to Bayern Munich, Beale has enough to sort out in the coming weeks without concerning himself with those who will be at the club next season.
Barisic is content to deal with his own situation when it suits both parties.
‘I’ve not had any discussion on my contract yet,’ he said. ‘We haven’t spoken about that, my only focus is on football. I want to do very well in the rest of the season. That’s very important to me, to the team and the club.
‘You don’t get a contract if you’re not performing well. Then no one wants you!’
One of the biggest success stories of the Steven Gerrard era, Barisic has cut a happier figure since Beale returned to the club to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
‘I’m very motivated,’ he stressed. ‘I had a nice chat with Mick when I came back from the World Cup. I’m feeling good.’
While Rangers won’t give up on the Premiership title until it’s arithmetically beyond them, no one would dispute that retaining the Scottish Cup represents the best chance of lifting silverware this season. Mindful that a yellow card against Raith would have seen him suspended for the semi-final, Barisic ensured he watched his step. ‘I was being careful,’ he said. ‘We spoke about that before the game. I have experience and stayed away from trouble. ‘It’s very important for us as we want to defend this trophy and keep it with us. We will give everything to do that.’