Pundit slams Borna Barisic in ‘a bit stale’ verdict as Rangers ace lost ‘motivation’
Pundit David Robertson believes Borna Barisic has become “a bit stale” at Rangers having been at the club for a long time.
The left-back, who is now 30 years old, joined the Scottish Premiership outfit from Croatian side Osijek in the summer of 2018.
And Robertson, who also played as left-back for the Gers, has suggested that Barisic needs competition for his place in order to stay hungry at Ibrox.
“Borna has been there a while now, and I’m not just saying this about him, but in general, the longer a player stays at the same club the chances are that he can become a bit stale,” Robertson told the Daily Record.
“When boys come in who have not been lifelong Rangers fans, the passion is there at the start as they are desperate to make an impression with the supporters and their team-mates but as time goes on, that can drift away and you lose that spark. The motivation goes a wee bit.
“I still think Borna did well at times in the season that has just ended but there’s no doubt that having serious competition for a starting place can push him on again.”
Healthy competition needed
Competition for places is definitely needed if a club wants to be successful, and that is very much the case for Rangers next season as they look to close the gap on Celtic.
Their fierce rivals have healthy competition for places in all areas, with the same not able to be said of the Gers in recent times.
But Rangers manager Michael Beale is doing his utmost to avoid a repeat of that scenario next time around, with the boss already securing the services of Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling and Kieran Dowell.
More arrivals can be expected soon, but the Gers may already be set at left-back, with Barisic and Ridvan Yilmaz set to battle it out for a starting role there next season.
The former was heavily relied upon in the most recent campaign, with the latter missing a large chunk of the season through injury, before impressing in the final stages when he was finally fit.
In other Rangers news, one exit-bound Gers player is wanted across the world in an ‘exceptionally shrewd’ deal, according to Sky Sports.