Rangers defender Borna Barisic has lifted the lid on his recent absence from the side as doubts mount over his future at Ibrox.
The summer signing has been in and out of the Gers squad under Steven Gerrard, with the Croatian missing from action after the last international break.
As rumours continue to circulate about a potential departure this summer, just a year after joining, Barisic has insisted that his relationship with Gerrard is fine but admitted the injury problem suffered did have the staff at the club fuming.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: “This has been taken out of context. The only truth here is that I have been injured and I have found it hard to get into the team that is in great shape. We’ve won five in a row and conceded just one goal, so of course it’s not easy to get back into the team.
“Rangers are a big club with great players and it’s not easy to get back into the side. As far as my relationship with the coach, it’s all great with me. I had two weeks out because of my injury with the national team. I got back training and played in a friendly match. I admit it took me a while to restore my physical condition and that’s very important in the Scottish League.
“Yes, Rangers were angry (after his injury on international duty), but there was a misunderstanding. Everything was eventually sorted and now there’s no problem in that regard.”
Opinion
It is good that Barisic has taken the time to address these reported issues at Rangers for it should put a stop to the rumours regarding his future. Yes, he might not have been as consistent as the Ibrox faithful, not to mention manager Steven Gerrard, would have liked but it can often take some time to adapt to a new division and it seems that the defender has found that to be a problem in Scotland. This does not guarantee that he will not be on his way ahead of next season but it should give those at Rangers more confidence that the manager believes in him and his abilities. If injury has been the only problem then that is something which can be overcome. If it is actually more than that, then maybe there is a truth to the speculation over a potential exit. Only time will tell whether he has done enough to keep his place at Ibrox, but Gerrard will have a good idea ahead of the final few games of the season.