Antonio Colak scored 14 goals by the end of October in a blistering start to his Rangers career.
Yet he hasn’t added to that tally since injury and ill-fortune followed on from a dream start to life in Scotland that saw the Croat score the goal in Eindhoven that delivered Champions League football to Ibrox for the first time in 11 years.
At that point in the campaign, the former Malmo striker was looking at a dream double for club and country in the shape of the Champions League and World Cup. The former turned into a nightmare as Rangers lost all six matches to Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli. But at least Colak got to play on that stage. He can’t say the same about the World Cup.
Despite being named in an original squad of 34 players by national coach Zlatko Dalic, the Ibrox attacker was one of eight to miss the cut and had to watch his country storm to the bronze medal in Qatar without him.
The 29-year-old doesn’t try to hide the hurt. There’s no diplomatic shrug of the shoulders - just an honest belief that his 14 goals for Rangers before the World Cup got underway, should have warranted him a place on the plane with Ibrox team-mate Borna Barisic.
And while Colak is adamant he will make up for that heartache by getting back to full fitness at Rangers to score the goals that will make it impossible for Croatia to ignore him, there’s no getting away from the pain of missing out in November and December - and from the manner in which he found out that his dream had turned to dust.
He said: “It was very, very frustrating to miss out. He (Dalic) didn’t phone me. I found out on the live stream on the TV when they made the public announcement. I don’t want to comment more on that.
“Look, I am happy for Croatia for what they achieved for such a small country. To get another medal is unbelievable success and great work. I watched Borna and the other players do so well and they are all friends of mine, so I was happy for them.
“If they win I am happy and if they lose I am disappointed. I listened to Borna and the stories to get some inside information of what it was like. It’s always fun to hear what it was like. I also got to hold his medal when he came back - and it’s quite heavy!
“But some players were there who weren’t nearly close to the numbers I had. They didn’t even play in the Champions League or anything like that. So it was really frustrating as I saw myself there and it would have been nice to have a medal at home now like Borna.”
Having recovered from an achilles injury that forced him off just 45 minutes into his first appearance for Rangers under new boss Michael Beale, at Tannadice on January 8, Colak has had to be patient as Alfredo Morelos has reclaimed the main striker’s jersey.
And with Kemar Roofe nearing fitness after injuring his shoulder in the League Cup semi final win over Aberdeen, Colak faces a fight to get back into the starting line-up.
He knows, however, that to have any chance of adding to his three caps for Croatia - two of them won in the qualifiers for Qatar against Slovakia and Slovenia - he will have to reignite his Rangers career.
“I hope I can be a part of that in the future,” he added. “But that depends on my performances for Rangers. It’s just part of the game, sometimes you’re disappointed and you have to work again and stand up to it.
“It’s about going for what’s ahead of you. I still believe I can do it (play for Croatia). I had a short period when I was injured but we will soon have the qualification games, the Nations League and then the European Championships in Germany in two years. Of course, I look forward to all of that and if I could be a part of it, it would be amazing.”
First, though, is Rangers and there’s a chance Beale will give Colak some much needed game time - he’s played only 40 minutes over four sub appearances since picking up the injury on January 8 - in the Scottish Cup on Sunday when Partick Thistle visit Ibrox.
He said: “The most important thing is that when I am feeling 100 percent then I am the best version of myself. Then I can play without thinking about anything and try to score. It’s not like it’s constantly been on my mind, I try not to think about it. But sometimes you want to get over your pain.
“If I am 100 percent then I can help the team in the best possible way. Of course, I wanted to impress him (Beale) directly from the first day but the small injuries took me out a little bit. But now I’m back fit so everything is fine. I always see everything positive. There are a lot of games coming up where I can be involved, where I can show my quality again and score. This is what I’m looking for.”
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