Rangers fans have raised questions about the form of Croatian international Borna Barisic after the Gers crashed out of the Champions League to Malmo.
The 28-year-old was a key performer for the Gers last season but this campaign hasn’t got off to the same start as the ex-NK Osijek captain toils for form and fitness.
An injury sustained whilst going into Euro 2020 appears to have had a lingering impact and the left-back hasn’t been the same presence for Rangers in the early part of this season.
This also comes after deputy left-back Calvin Bassey enjoyed a promising pre-season, leaving plenty wondering why the management is persisting with a clearly off the pace Borna.
Supporters took to Twitter after the calamitous 2-1 defeat to the 10-men of Malmo to ask the question of the Croat, whose defending, crossing and energy aren’t at the levels required:
https://twitter.com/_AVK72/status/1425217078823358466
https://twitter.com/CaptainJTav2/status/1425235329309609993
https://twitter.com/CraigS55_/status/1425218585862066177
Barisic had a troublesome period when he first arrived in Scottish football and struggled to cope with the demands of Rangers.
Now the scrutiny is growing on the full-back who – in his own defence – does not look fit enough at present to properly contribute to the side.
Speaking after the game, Steven Gerrard also refused to criticise individuals when pressed on this in the post-match.
“Football when you concede a goal normally people look for individuals but I think as a team, defensively we haven’t been good enough,” said Gerrard [Rangers].
“We conceded two goals in the first leg and two in the second leg; when you concede four goals over two games you give yourself a huge mountain to climb.
“So I’m really disappointed we conceded four goals, we lost the second half two nil, but there’s no point pointing fingers at individuals.
“As a team, as a unit, we haven’t defended two restarts well enough and we had some poor situations last week and again at the weekend and we might need make some changes.”
The Ibrox defeat to Malmo FF is also made worse by an upset in the adjacent Champions League QR3 tie, meaning a favourable clash lay in wait in the Playoff.