Rangers refuse to get carried away despite leading by 19 points
Rangers may be a remarkable 19 points ahead of their rivals, but Borna Barisic insists they are keeping their feet firmly on the ground.
Saturday’s 1-0 win over Celtic at Ibrox has led to plenty of title talk outside the club, but within the dressing room the focus is only on Sunday’s match against Aberdeen.
Croatia international Barisic has played a key role in Rangers’ success this season, providing dangerous deliveries from the left while contributing to a defence that has lost just five goals in 22 Premiership matches.
The refusal to get carried away with their significant lead in the title race meant that, according to Barisic, the team did not even celebrate their derby win.
In an interview with Croatian outlet Sportske Novosti, Barisic said: “We won three important points, but we are not talking about winning the title. We don’t have that way of thinking, we just concentrate on the next game and try to win it.
“We go from game to game and that’s our method of trying to win the championship. I can’t say anything else, because that’s really the truth.
“After the game, there was no celebration, no talk about the title, there was nothing. The only thing we discussed was our next match.
“The fans have been waiting for a decade and will be the happiest in the world if we win the title. However, that’s the angle from the fans and it’s not them who are playing, it’s us.
“It’s the players who must do it and therefore we must not lose our focus. Concentrate on the next game, nothing else matters.
“On Saturday, it was obvious Celtic would go all out to win because they were behind us by a few points and wanted to try and close the gap.
“So we were happy with our victory, but you have to work to get the happiness of victory and that’s what we have been doing for all those months.
“That’s reflected in our games, attitude towards training, work and the togetherness of the squad.
“The three points were very important and we were satisfied with them.
“For me, everything is great at the moment. We play two games a week and this week was the first time in a couple of months we’ve had a whole week to recover. It will be good to freshen up a bit.
“I am enjoying my football and the results give you that feeling. We are playing great this season and everything is going in a good direction. I have really enjoyed it.”
Steven Gerrard’s side will look to extend a Premiership winning run that has lasted since September when they face Aberdeen on Sunday, in a repeat of the opening day fixture. Ryan Kent gave Rangers the win back in August with the game’s only goal.
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