Rangers defender Borna Barisic reveals deal among Ibrox squad to avoid another title collapse

Borna Barisic believes Rangers have proved they are a changed team from the one which couldn’t stay the distance in the title race in the previous two seasons.

Rangers defender Borna Barisic tussles with Motherwell striker Tony Watt during the Ibrox side's 3-1 win on Saturday. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

The Ibrox club will bid for an 11th straight Premiership victory when they face St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday evening.

As they look to protect their healthy 16-point lead at the top of the table, Barisic insists last Saturday’s recovery from the loss of an early goal to eventually beat Motherwell 3-1 was evidence of a significant change in mentality among Steven Gerrard’s squad.

“There was no panic when we were losing 1-0 to Motherwell,” said the Croatian international defender. “We stuck to our game plan and believed in each other more than any other time.

“This is the first time this has happened since I came to the club. When we go behind, we still believe in each other and that goes for the whole squad.

“Last season, the belief wasn’t always there for sure and the season before also. But we are now in our third season together and everyone at the club knows the situation.

“We have been in this situation in the previous two seasons. We have made a deal with ourselves not to panic and to stick with our plan. Because that is the only way that we will win.

“When we play, we are aware a lot of teams will have a low block as you saw with Motherwell. It is not always easy to score goals against teams who have ten players behind the ball.

“But in our third season together, we now know the league, we know the expectation. The guys who came here this season have also adapted very well and very quickly. Even from the substitutes’ bench, they bring a lot of energy and quality. That allows the whole squad not to panic and to play right until the end for the win.

“So Motherwell was a very important win for us, especially after losing to St Mirren in the cup last Wednesday night. We showed a lot of character and managed to get the three points.”

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