Rangers defender Nikola Katic has slipped a little off the radar at Ibrox.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has told the club’s official YouTube channel that he predicted Nikola Katic’s drop in form long before it came.
The Gers swooped to land Katic from Croatian side Slaven Belupo over the summer, beating Russian giants Spartak Moscow to his signature in a key move.
Katic, 22, started his Rangers career in fine form, featuring prominently in the club’s Europa League qualification campaign and forming a superb partnerhsip with Connor Goldson.
However, the arrivals of Joe Worrall and Gareth McAuley have bumped Katic down the pecking order, and his own poor displays mean that he is now more like fourth-choice centre back at Ibrox right now.
With just three appearances since the end of September, Katic has endured a remarkable fall of late, and it’s hard to see him getting back into the side right now.
Today, Gerrard was asked about the situation with Katic, and suggested that he predicted a dip in form for the defender as he is a young player still learning the game.
Gerrard noted that he knew he would have to drop Katic at some point, but feels he will come back stronger and be a better player in the long-term for a spell on the sidelines.
“Niko came in and was excellent in the beginning,” said Gerrard. “As we expected of a young boy learning his way, he was going to have that little dip in form, I always knew as a manager that I was going to have to pull him out at a certain point and protect him. He’ll come back stronger and improve and he’ll come back and help us again,” he added.
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