Trudging down the Parkhead steps after yet another derby defeat, Borna Barisic forgot the need to bite his tongue.
Faced with a group of gloating Celtic supporters eager to rub in a result that all but confirmed another title triumph for Ange Postecoglou’s men, the raging Rangers defender was caught on camera snapping back with an x-rated response. The big Croatian international insists he’d have had even more to say than his sweary two-word retort were he in his civvies and not shouldering the responsibility of representing the badge embroidered on the chest of his club-issued Castore trackie.
But now, with one game left to restore some pride and salvage Gers’ season, Barisic concedes the time for talking is over. The accusations that this Rangers team have far too much to say for themselves given their recent failures may be harsh given the varied media duties that are required of the modern day professional.
But Barisic accepts any more pre-match chatter ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup semi-final with their bitter rivals only runs the risk of making them look silly should Michael Beale’s team again fail to deliver at Hampden. “Someone was saying bad things at me and I don't like that,” said the left back as he recalled the viral incident in the wake of this month’s 3-2 loss at Celtic Park.
“I reacted but on the streets I may have reacted even more. But we are not on the streets and I represent this club.”
But what about representing the club on the pitch, showing the strength of character needed to end a year-long run of five derbies without a win? "Listen, it’s very hard to talk about that because we always talk about mentality, we need to run, we need to do this, we need to do that - but then you lose.
“It makes it look like you’ve talked about stupid things before the game but then you don’t do it. So this time I don’t want to talk too much.
“I’d like to be more quiet this time and try to show what I think we can do on the pitch and try to win the game. It is easy to say words about beating them.
“We haven’t won the last three Old Firm games but that doesn't mean our heads are down. We’re not a bad team but on this occasion we will not talk about things we want to do. We are confident and we think we can win but we need to show it on the pitch.”
Barisic has found the Old Firm environment to be just as hostile inside Celtic Park as it was on the doorstep. He may have escaped the fall-guy blame last time out as blunders from Ben Davies and John Souttar effectively ended Gers’ faint title aspirations.
But he’s had enough tormenting at the hands of Postecoglou’s flying wingers to have every reason to dread these derby head-to-heads. Nothing, though, could be further from the truth.
“These games are amongst the most intense I’ve experienced but I have also played in a World Cup which is pressure,” said the former Osijek ace. That is what you are a Rangers player. If you cannot handle the pressure then you are in the wrong place.
“I love everything about the rivalry. Even when we go there for an away game and they are shouting at us I like that. I think it is magical and that motivates me. I like to be against 60,000.”
It will be a 50-50 split on the Mount Florida slopes tomorrow though and if Rangers are to send their half of the National Stadium home happy they can’t afford to present the Hoops with the kind of gifts they laid on at Parkhead. “We had some success against them last time but also some obvious mistakes,” conceded Barisic.
“That is all part of the game and sometimes you can't avoid them. Do we have something to prove against Celtic? The answer is yes, of course. We must always compete against them. In this country it’s either them or us.
“This is a big game and an opportunity for us to prove we are better than them. We will try to do that. Obviously this season it has not been the case but Sunday is different, it’s a semi-final. It’s one game and of course it is always 50-50.”
This will be the final Hampden showdown with Celtic for several members of Beale’s squad. With another year on his deal remaining, Barisic isn’t among those planning on saying farewell. And the prospect of waving goodbye to the domestic clean sweep record - jointly held with the Hoops at seven apiece - isn’t something he’s given much thought to either.
“To be fair I don’t think too much about that because I want to win a trophy for this club,” said the 30-year-old. “That is the way we look at it. I don’t know about players leaving but this is the last opportunity for us to win a trophy this season.
“I can see that people are very motivated about that and we need to show that Sunday. We have had opportunities to win more trophies and we didn't win.
“That is bad of course. But that can motivate us now and for the future. You need a lot of things to go right to win a trophy because it is not just about one game.
“Do I have optimism for the future? Yes, I’ve thought about that a lot these last few weeks. We know our situation is not good but I see the people behind the scenes working to make us stronger next season, to give us a better, deeper squad.
“That’s why I’m very positive because they’re doing incredible things. Of course we need a lot of things to come together to win the league. But I see a lot of positive things and with a good pre-season, with some good players coming in we will be competitive I think.”
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