Nikola Katic and Borna Barisic once again missed out on a place in Steven Gerrard’s match-day squad.
Barisic has now only featured in one of the last four Rangers matches. For Katic, he hasn’t played in any of the last three.
Considering yesterday;s 3-1 success against Hearts was such a huge occasion, Gerrard would’ve wanted his best team out. With a chance to get three points closer to the league leaders, this was a huge match and one Rangers had to win.
Yet, Barisic in particular wasn’t even part of the match-day squad. The Rangers manager hasn’t mentioned any potential injury regarding the Croatian. The left-back’s last appearance came in the dreadful 1-0 defeat at Livingston. Barisic failed to perform in that one, but so did the 10 other Rangers players alongside him.
Unlikely omissions
A big concern for him will now be the form of Jon Flanagan. Supporters have been praising him endlessly after two terrific displays against Rapid Vienna and Hearts respectively. As a defender, he’s the kind of player Rangers fans like. He’ll run through brick walls for the club and give his all for the cause.
Barisic now has a fight on his hands to win back that left-back spot. You have to imagine, however, that there are some fitness issues behind the scenes that we maybe don’t know about. That’s one possible explanation for the defender’s omission in recent squads.
Katic, on the other hand, has largely been available yet just not picked. Gerrard has spoken in the past of the centre-back’s inexperience, but he’s a quality defender regardless.
With Joe Worrall struggling to look as good as Katic, it must also be a matter of time before he’s reintegrated into the side. Worrall has had a rollercoaster time of it in his few appearances in a Rangers jersey so far. Regardless, however, Katic remains the better option and will be wondering why he isn’t in the side.
Both players may have been given warnings by Gerrard that they have to perform in training or their places will be under threat. There aren’t many explanations as to why the star duo have been dropped in recent times. This, therefore, could be one of them.
It goes to show that nobody’s place in the Rangers first-team is safe, even if you are performing. Barisic and Katic will hope to get themselves back into contention, but squad depth is as strong at Ibrox as it’s been in a long time.
