Manager admits ‘pleasant surprise’ at Nikola Katic’s first Rangers season

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Rangers defender Nikola Katic endured ups and downs in his first season at Ibrox.

Croatia Under-21 boss Nenad Gracan has told The Herald that he has been ‘pleasantly surprised’ with Nikola Katic’s progress at Rangers.

Rangers dipped into the Croatian market three times last summer to bolster Steven Gerrard’s squad, though Katic is the only one resembling any sort of success.

The former Slaven Belupo man joined Rangers alongside Osijek duo Borna Barisic and Eros Grezda, but the latter two could leave this summer after poor first seasons at Ibrox.

Katic, on the other hand, looks set to have an even bigger role next season. His season started brilliantly as he made a huge impact, but then he dropped out of the side for some time in favour of Joe Worrall.

Katic returned to the starting line-up in the latter stages of the season, and he produced outstanding displays alongside Connor Goldson, suggesting he’ll feature in that partnership again next season.

Now, Katic is heading off to the Under-21 European Championships, joining up with the Croatia side, and his manager Gracan has praised his progress.

Gracan has admitted he’s pleasantly surprised with how Katic has adapted to life in Scotland, praising his character and mental strength whilst packing him to get better and better with Rangers.

“I was certainly pleased to see one of our young players performing well at a club as big as Rangers, and it was a pleasant surprise to see how well Katic has been adapting,” said Gracan. “Katic is a big professional and he has a strong sense of character, and the respect he shows towards his coaches and team-mates is a testament to his personality. I believe his coaches at Rangers must also be pleased with these traits.”

“I think he has a lot of mental strength, and he does a lot of work individually on getting even better and on fixing any weaknesses he might have. He’s still very young, and I expect to see him grow a lot and get better and better with each day,” he added.