Borna Barisic speaks out about unhappy Rangers dressing room amid Michael Beale pressure
Rangers full-back Borna Barisic admits he and his team-mates had been left “very disappointed” by their start to the campaign.
The Gers lost half of their opening four Scottish Premiership games and were beaten heavily by PSV in the Champions League qualifying play-offs.
However, they have recovered well since the international break thanks to wins over St Johnstone and Real Betis.
The 1-0 Europa League win over Real Betis in particular could be a turning point, but Barisic accepts previous performance were not good enough.
“I think that these two wins are very big, very important,” Barisic is quoted as saying by STV News [21 September].
“Of course we have not been happy and have been very disappointed. We felt that we didn’t play good some games.
“We lost the derby game and obviously it was a hard two weeks to be here to train. I was not here but people said, and I know that feeling.
“Then we come to St Johnstone and won the game, now this game, so that’s why I said that we feel much better now, and happy.
“But this is only one game. We need to continue like this and be positive and try to win games.”
Building momentum
A week is a long time in football, so we are often told, and that has proved the case for Michael Beale and his Rangers side.
This time last week, as the players prepared for their trip to McDiarmid Park, the mood could not have been much lower.
But the wins over St Johnstone and Real Betis have helped to lift morale once more and there are now plenty of reasons to be positive.
Of course, the opposite could be true and this time next week the same old questions may be being asked of Beale.
Rangers face Motherwell and Livingston in the league and League Cup between now and then, and both matches must end in victory.
Should they manage that, momentum will very much be on the Gers’ side as we approach the next international break.
Given the cynical nature of football, it is perhaps best to wait until then before casting any further judgements on Beale’s future.
In other Rangers news, one Gers player was given a 9/10 rating for his performance against Real Betis.