STEVEN GERRARD insists there is ‘nothing stopping’ Borna Barisic as the Croatian looks to kick-start his Ibrox career after emerging as Rangers’ match-winner against St Mirren.
The Croatian netted the only goal of the game on Sunday as Gerrard’s side continued their unbeaten start to the campaign and made it three wins from three in the Premiership.
Barisic has often struggled to recapture the form he has shown for his national team with the Light Blues but Gerrard believes there is plenty more to come from him after a huge goal in Paisley.
He said: “It was a moment of magic from Borna.
“We knew what we were going to face today on the back of a tough European game.
“It was a hot day, a sticky pitch against a team that was very well organised.
“They did everything they could to take something and the challenge grew tougher as the game went on.
“I always felt from the side it was going to take a bit of brilliance from one of my front men or a well executed free-kick.
“Thankfully Borna stepped up to the plate. He deserves all the credit he gets as I have seen him do that so many times in training.
“It is ok doing it there when there is nobody watching. But, you have to do it in big moments so fair play to him.
“I’ve seen that many times. There are big moments like changes to players’ form or where they are at.
“I think it’s all down to Borna. I see the quality and I see the attributes. He is six foot, in good shape, he has quality, he can run.
“There is nothing stopping Borna in my opinion and if he can find the level he had today I will be a happy man.”
The goal from Barisic was a moment of magic in an otherwise frustrating 90 minutes for Rangers as they found a hard-working St Mirren defence tough to break down.
The Buddies caused Gerrard’s side few problems and it was mainly one-way traffic in the Paisley sunshine as Rangers continued their encouraging start to the campaign.
The Gers return to Europa League action when they face Legia Warsaw in the second leg of their play-off clash on Thursday night before Celtic visit Ibrox for the first Old Firm clash of the campaign.
Gerrard made five changes to his starting line-up from the trip to Poland in midweek and was pleased to see his side grind out a crucial victory.
He said: “Look, we got criticised last season and rightly so for not being consistent enough and maybe not winning the games ugly at times.
“If we are going to be successful together sometimes when you can’t find the answers in general play and it’s looking as if it’s going to be a frustrating afternoon we need people to step up and provide big moments.
“It was very satisfying from the start. But I think if you look at the whole game there is really only one team trying to win the game and I think you get what you deserve more often than not.”
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