Exclusive: Alex McLeish claims Rangers ace Barisic has ‘exceeded expectations’
We’re delighted to welcome former Rangers manager Alex McLeish as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Alex McLeish has hailed Rangers full-back Borna Barisic for his “tremendous” form of late.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, the former Gers boss admitted that the Croatia international looked a “wee bit vulnerable” earlier in his career in Glasgow, but has turned things around completely.
Barisic has established himself as a mainstay of Steven Gerrard’s side in recent times, and has started each of Rangers’ six Scottish Premiership matches so far this term.
And McLeish has been impressed with the left-back’s progress during his time in Scotland.
Speaking to Ibrox News, he said: “There was talk that he wasn’t quite good enough for the Rangers level.
“He’d again hit a bit of a patch of bad form and was looking a wee bit vulnerable, but that’s confidence and you don’t know what a person is like – you’ve never walked in their shoes and it’s difficult to know what he’s feeling in his stomach or what he’s feeling in his head at a certain moment.
“In my days at Aberdeen, I remember losing my form and Sir Alex [Ferguson] dropped me and I was humiliated. Then I played in a game and I thought I did pretty well but we got battered 3-0 by Dundee United, 3-0 at home. I thought that’s it, I’ll be dropped again but he said to me: ‘That was more like yourself tonight,’ and all of a sudden my mentality came back strong again and my confidence was there.
“They [footballers] are only human so I think Barisic has actually exceeded expectations now, such is his tremendous form.”
Barisic joined Rangers from boyhood club NK Osijek for a fee of around £2.2 million in 2018.
Since then, he has gone on to make 68 appearances for the Gers, registering 21 assists and scoring three goals in all competitions.
In other Rangers news, we bring you another exclusive, as Frank McAvennie claims Alfredo Morelos could upset the Ibrox dressing room if he stays.