View: Rangers defender Borna Barisic could be dropped v Hearts
Giovanni van Bronckhorst suffered his first defeat as a Rangers manager this week, and it wasn’t a pleasant one.
Losing against Glasgow rivals Celtic does hurt, and unfortunately, the defeat allowed them to get into the top spot.
However, there are still a lot of games to be played and the title race is not over yet.
The Gers must shake off the Old Firm disappointment and look forward to their next game.
They face Hearts at Ibrox and Van Bronckhorst has made it clear today (04 February) that he will make changes to the side.
The Dutchman was particularly unhappy with the club’s recent defensive lapses and made it very clear that it’s not the tactics that saw an improvement in the second half but the change of players.
“On Wednesday, I didn’t change any tactics at half-time. I just changed personnel and we had a whole different attitude in the second half,” he said, as quoted by The Daily Record.
“But it’s obvious I want to see a different team, a different mentality, a different intensity – the things you always have to have when you go into games.
“Celtic again, the second and third goal. That’s too easy to give goals away like that. We have to make sure we bring back the determination in the back line but also the players in front of that when needed have to everything to block the goals.”
One player who could face the axe is Borna Barisic.
The 29-year-old was shocking against Celtic and he was taken at half-time.
The Croatia international was at fault for numerous Celtic chances and was at fault for the third goal. He didn’t even mark Liel Abada at the back post.
Barisic’s flaws at the back were brutally exposed by Celtic but that performance was really abysmal.
Leon Balogun replaced him in the second half, and Rangers looked a lot better in terms of the overall shape.
With Van Bronckhorst hinting that he would make changes, and especially targeting an improvement at the back, Barisic could likely face the axe as Rangers aim to return to winning ways this weekend.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist and Chris Sutton have been engaging in words in the midst of the Old Firm.