COOL FOR KATIC
Croatian defender coming of age at Ibrox
HE was described as a ‘mountain’ by his manager Steven Gerrard following the stunning defensive performance which entirely blocked out Legia Warsaw’s view of the Europa League group stage. Yet Nikola Katic won’t forget the days when he was very much the moveable object of the Rangers defence.
The 22-year-old Croatian produced the game of his young life on Thursday night with an old head and old-school defending the highlight of his excellent early-season form.
Katic can be assured he will be back alongside Connor Goldson when Celtic visit Ibrox today.
The praise is most welcome. He loved it a couple of weeks ago, too, when reading that Gerrard believed he possessed ‘a Rangers mentality’.
The love of his team-mates is appreciated. Several wrapped him in their arms at the final whistle on Thursday to give personal thanks for his succession of breathtaking clearances and bruising challenges that kept Legia at bay.
However, Katic is cute enough to realise that scaling the peaks on such a big night for the club is no guarantee that he is not susceptible to a fall from a great height.
Such as last season when all his early promise faded and a young man, who was a long way from home, was left out of the Rangers side for a sustained spell.
‘When I hear the manager say I’m a mountain, it feels great,’ said Katic. ‘But I have to stay strong and keep my feet on the ground. Because I had such good performances like that last year — followed by some bad ones.
‘If you play bad in the next game, no one asks you about the last one. I’m happy right now but all my focus is on the next one. I do feel, though, I’ve taken my game on to another level this season.
‘After one year here, I know what to expect from the games and what the manager wants from me. It’s not like it’s something new every game. I know what I need to do in every game and I feel more comfortable. I’ve settled in my life better now.’
Katic (below) admits there were occasional homesick feelings as he cooled his heels on the sidelines, as only one group-stage appearance followed the eight in qualifying for the Europa League.
On the domestic front, too, Joe Worrall, on loan from Nottingham Forest, was preferred despite making more than one costly error.
Gerrard has explained that a ‘family situation’ impacted negatively on Katic’s performances through the autumn and winter months.
He was given a break from the spotlight, with Gerrard’s backroom team working on his game, confidence and physique.
He is grateful for the support. ‘There are a few players who aren’t here from last year but I stayed,’ states Katic.
‘Okay, I didn’t play for a few months but the manager stuck behind me.
‘He gave me a chance, he told me
what he expected from me. I believe in myself and I think he also believes in me. He just said: “Do your job. Do what you do best and you will be a great player for us”. ‘There were difficult times for me when I wasn’t playing. I felt bad but I never stopped believing in my ability. That’s how I reached this level. So I worked hard and believed that my chance would come.
‘I had to be ready for that, I had to grab it with both hands. When the next games came, I think I did that.’
A strong spell in the spring included Katic’s second Old Firm appearance, the 2-0 victory in April, before he was one of Croatia’s best performers at the European Under-21 Championships in Italy.
The signings of £3.5million Swedish international Filip Helander and much sought-after Oldham prospect George Edmundson for £700,000 significantly strengthened the competition in Katic’s department.
‘I had to take my game up a level because the manager signed two more centre-backs,’ admits Katic.
‘If you want to keep your shirt here, you have to show your best performances for the manager and the team. Just now it’s good, but I can still be better.
‘I thrive on the pressure of having Filip and George here. They’re amazing players and you know everything about Connor. So we have really good competition in that area.
‘But I’ll do everything to keep this shirt because I’m fighting for myself and my family. I respect all of them but I’ll do everything to stay in this team.’
Katic sat on the bench as Ryan Jack’s goal last December gave Rangers a breakthrough league win over Celtic, then again when losing 2-1 at Parkhead amid chaotic scenes.
Even a substitute’s view of those occasions assisted in the Croatian’s education and he stored away the lessons learned to help him cope when recalled to the starting line-up for the final Glasgow derby of the season.
He believes he is not the only sophomore at Ibrox approaching the top-flight clashes with Celtic this season in a better place.
‘I missed two games against Celtic when I was out — one home, one away,’ he says.
‘But it was a good lesson for me to see something from a different point of view. It helped me improve the game. To win the game at Ibrox was an amazing feeling. We know now what it means to the supporters and everyone at the club.
‘That game is something different from all the other games and we were really feeling it. Every challenge, every ball, you have to be 100-per-cent focused because if you switch off for one moment, you can lose the match.
‘Winning on Thursday night was
When the manager says I’m a mountain, it feels great but I’ll keep my feet on the ground
ideal preparation for this. Our confidence is high after recent games. We’ve had four clean sheets in a row now, so I think we’re ready for Celtic.
‘We proved last year we can play against them and I think we’re a much better team than last season. Every player has settled down after a year, so we know what to expect in this game now.’
Rangers can claim to have learned plenty from their European missions of the past 14 months, too.
Poorer teams than their overpowered Polish opponents featured in Friday’s group-stage draw.
The 1-0 second-leg success over Legia Warsaw by virtue of Alfredo Morelos’ injury-time header took Gerrard’s record in continental competition to an impressive 20 unbeaten games from 22.
That capped a special night for Katic, who was swamped by wellwishing colleagues after all the late dramatics. He explains: ‘They were happy because they thought I played good. I also thought I played good. But the team played really well. There was a big pressure, we wanted to reach the group stage.
‘For a different reason, financially, and also to get more good games in Europe. In the last five minutes when we scored — I don’t know how to describe it.
‘Maybe only the Celtic home match last season or the Rapid Vienna game at Ibrox had the same atmosphere. The fans helped us so much against a tough opponent in Legia. That will be a big factor on Sunday because we have all the fans supporting us.
‘When you play at Celtic Park, you have 60,000 on your neck — everyone hates you, so it’s difficult to play. It should be the same for them at Ibrox.
‘I feel I have such a bond with our fans. On Thursday night, that felt incredible.’