BORNA BARISIC has expressed his pride after becoming a father for the first time and thanked boss Michael Beale for his understanding at Ibrox.
The Croatian missed the Premiership win over Motherwell last month to return home to be with wife Anja ahead of their big day.
Barisic welcomed a baby boy into the world before heading off on international duty and he is now waiting for his family to join him in Glasgow.
The 30-year-old has been a steady performer under Beale's guidance this term and now has another reason to be cheerful off the park.
Barisic said: "His name is Stipe, after my father. That was always the plan, to name him after my dad.
"He’s our first baby so it’s a very big thing for us. He was born a couple of days before our international against Turkiye so I was there and it was the best feeling ever and I was with him for one day after that.
"It was very nice, very beautiful. Now we’re just waiting for him to be able to travel here as soon as possible but they can’t travel yet. He’s still only three weeks old.
🚀 Borna Barišić fires the ball into the top corner to open the scoring for @RangersFC. #ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/82VxwCICIr
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) January 21, 2023
"It’s difficult to be apart from him at the moment but I always knew that was going to happen. It’s better that he’s with my wife, especially when I’m away for games. Hopefully in one or two months they will come here.
“The plan was always for the baby to born in Croatia. It’s easier for me – when he was born I had internationals, so my family didn’t need to come here and help. It’s better for me to go to Croatia and they can help for the first couple of months.
“I’m glad there’s a good person here in Mick, he understands everything about your family – he said I need to be there to be to be a father, so he gave me a couple of days off. That means a lot to me.
“The other players have been telling me what to expect – that I’ll be awake two or three times every night and I experienced a little bit of that when I was in Croatia.
"Everything’s changing but when I look at him, everything is easier and it’s the best feeling. It’s what life’s about, so there will be no problem."
Barisic revealed earlier in the campaign how he had made a deal with boss Beale following his appointment as Giovanni van Bronckhorst's successor at Ibrox.
The left-back has held up his end of the bargain by producing a consistent run of form during the first months of Beale's reign in the dugout.
And the man management skills that the Englishman has shown will come to the fore in the future as Beale prepares to put his stamp on the squad over the summer.
“Yes, absolutely," Barisic said when asked if Beale's personal touch was important. "From the first moment he came, I began to feel very happy. Much happier than I was before, I have to say that.
“We had a good relationship before. I like him and his team, his style of play, the way he treats me.
“I feel very happy and I think that’s for every player. I think he has that feeling about the important things in life and he knows when a player maybe has to go home for one or two days.
⚽️ GOAL OF THE DAY | Borna Barisic v St Mirren pic.twitter.com/dyKFxYtMzZ
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) September 4, 2021
“Also from the other side, you have to give him things back every day in training and also on the pitch, which I’m trying to do all the time.
“When he allows me to go home for three days to see my family and my new baby, I come back very happy and very motivated.
“It has helped me a lot personally. I never normally talk about the manager."
