Borna Barisic believes the personal touch of Michael Beale’s man-management can inspire his Rangers players to new heights.
The defender benefited from Beale ordering him to take a rare few days off to visit his baby son back in Croatia. Time with little Stipe, named after Barisic’s father, had been limited for the left-back since his birth last month. But he made it back over Easter to his homeland and said: “I’m glad that there’s a good person here in Mick.
“He understands everything about your family life. He said I need to be there to be to be a father, so he gave me a couple of days. It means a lot. We had a good relationship before. From the first moment Mick came, I began to feel much happier than before. I like him, his style of play, the way he treats me. He has that feeling about the important things in life and knows when a player maybe has to go home for a few days.
“It means you want to give him things back in training and on the pitch, which I’m trying to do all the time. After seeing my new baby, I come back very motivated. It has helped me a lot.”
Ahead of a summer of expected big changes at Ibrox, Barisic insists he’s happy to help Beale’s new arrivals.
“Everyone who comes will need help,” he said. “It takes time to adapt to training, style of games and the league.
“After the first season I figured it out I was weak for this level of intensity, when you’re playing every four days. I’ve told a few players they need to take care of their bodies here.
“I’m always at the training ground, doing recovery. If you want to perform at a high level, you need to be fit.”
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