If Borna Barisic wants to stay at Rangers and earn a new contract, the performance that he put in at Rugby Park has to be significantly improved.
A 2/10 on the player ratings was generous as Ridvan Yilmaz came on at half-time to save the day, Gers boss Philippe Clement looking increasingly likely to allow the Croatian to leave Ibrox at the end of the season.
The 31-year old has been a good signing for Rangers over his six seasons but it is the right time to move Borna Barisic on and for the club to head in a new direction and for him to be playing his football elsewhere next season.
Borna Barisic now facing up to Rangers summer exit
According to recent reports, the experienced left-back won’t be short of offers.
Dinamo Zagreb have been linked in the last two windows and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Barisic head home and settle some unfinished business.
He was at the Croatian champions as a youngster and they could well be following up their success in what is a tight Supersport HNL title race.
What we have seen from Ridvan Yilmaz in recent months is the future though.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement all seemed to prefer Barisic to Ridvan originally but, now that he is fit and had a run of games, there is only one winner.
Barisic was never the quickest but, against Killie, he looked slow and uncomfortable 1v1.
An accusation that can never be thrown at the diminutive Turk.
As DataMB analysis between the two Rangers left-backs show, there are other reasons why Borna Barisic finds himself on the bench more often.
You’d expect the 6ft 1inch tall Barisic to be bettter in the air but, when it comes to being able to beat players and progress the ball up the park, Ridvan is the clear winner.
Previously, all that Barisic had on Ridvan was that he was a better crosser of the ball, however, we’ve also seen in recent weeks just how much the younger of the two has improved to the extent that he was our most dangerous player in the loss to Motherwell.
When your one trick is no longer enough to keep you in the team, there is only ever going to be one outcome.
With the speculation that Jefte is likely to join Rangers in the summer, Borna Barisic should be thanked for his service but kindly leave the pass code or key for his locker on the way out of Auchenhowie.
