Rangers left-back Borna Barisic has heeded the calls of expectant Ibrox fans as he keeps his mouth shut in front of baying journalists heading into the Scottish Cup semi-final with Celtic.
Borna Barisic was the name chosen to face the press ahead of the must-win Hampden clash which really threatens to make or break a few Ibrox legacies heading into a summer of change.
But in the build up to the last few Old Firm encounters Rangers have set themselves up for an almighty fail by repeatedly talking a good game but failing to deliver when it matters.
Fashion Sakala, Todd Cantwell and John Lundstram have all been guilty of talking a better game than they’ve been capable of delivering and fans are at the end of their tether.
Borna Barisic refuses to take Celtic bait
Heading into the Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Celtic it was imperative that these cocky soundbites were kept to a minimum as Borna Barisic faced journalists eager for a slip up.
But the former NK Osijek defender held firm and even himself spoke about the hot air being espoused in the build-up to this game in the past, as well as the need to do your talking on the park.
“Listen, it’s very hard to talk about that because we always talk about mentality, we need to run, we need to do this, we need to do that – but then you lose,” said Barisic.
“It makes it look like you’ve talked about stupid things before the game but then you don’t do it. So this time I don’t want to talk too much.
“I’d like to be more quiet this time and try to show what I think we can do on the pitch and try to win the game. It is easy to say words about beating them.
“We haven’t won the last three Old Firm games but that doesn’t mean our heads are down. We’re not a bad team but on this occasion we will not talk about things we want to do. We are confident and we think we can win but we need to show it on the pitch.”
The Croatian international defender, 30, has been one of the club’s strongest performers in a disappointing season with Borna bringing in the aid of a personal physio to make him more robust.
It has clearly had an impact with the work off the field helping to cement Borna Barisic’s position as the club’s number one left-back and we expect him to start for Rangers v Celtic.