Rangers defender Borna Barisic has backed his skipper, James Tavernier amid a fan backlash, as quoted by the Scottish Herald.
Some supporters have called for Tavernier to be dropped or even stripped of the captaincy after his two errors contributed to both Young Boys goals on Thursday night.
However, the Croatian international believes he’s still very much the right man for the job.
Rangers defender Barisic backs Tavernier
“Of course he will be disappointed but you cannot blame him because we lost the game,” said Barisic, as quoted by the Scottish Herald. “We had a couple of chances too and we didn’t score.”
“He slipped on the artificial pitch for the second one so I don’t want to blame him or anyone because we lost. We win and lose as a team.
“As captain, he has been really good for me. He always puts himself in front of the team and if you need something he is always here. On the pitch he shows a lot too so for me he is a very good captain.”
Verdict
Yesterday, we called for fans to tone down their borderline hysterical criticism of Tavernier.
Now, these comments go to show that he’s highly respected within the squad. Barisic, who continues to prove his own critics wrong by churning out strong performances, serves under the world-class Luka Modric with his national team.
We’re not suggesting Tav is anywhere near that bracket. Yet, if Barisic has been impressed with him since he walked through the door at Ibrox, it suggests he’s got excellent qualities.
One howler of a game doesn’t make you a bad player, or a bad leader.
