STEVEN GERRARD urged his players to keep their foot to the floor following the 5-0 win over Hearts on Sunday.

And Borna Barisic reckons he is now hitting top gear at Ibrox as he plays the best football of his career.

The left-back became an easy target for supporters at times last term as he failed to hit the heights expected following his summer switch from Osijek.

But Barisic has now firmly established himself for Gerrard's side and he has become part of a settled and consistent defensive unit that has impressed at home and abroad this season.

Boss Gerrard has always stuck by the Croatian internationalist and is now being rewarded as Barisic proves his worth at Ibrox.

Barisic said: “When you talk about the manager having patience with me, I think not really because I was injured. I put myself into his position and I would be the same.

“If you are injured and you come back not playing good, you don’t play, it’s easy. So it’s not a problem.

“Is this the best football I’ve played in my career? Yes, probably. I play now for three months in a row every game and it’s not had as many games as this. I’ve not had injuries and I’m happy. I’m really enjoying it.

“Starting from this pre-season when I got to physically well, I’ve really enjoyed it.

“I’ve always believed in myself when it comes to the football, but it was physically.

"It’s the best part of my life, for sure.”

Barisic has been open and honest about his struggles during his first months at Rangers as he found it difficult to adapt to Scottish football.

His patience has proven to be worthwhile, however, and he is now better equipped mentally and physically to handle the challenges of life at Ibrox as Rangers strive for success.

He said: “I sacrificed a lot. I said to myself: Okay, you didn’t play well in all of the games but I know why and it is because of the injuries.

“So if you want to play good, you need to sacrifice some things. That’s not a problem for me. I can rest all the time for the games now. It’s part of my life now.

“The mental aspect is also very important. When you play one or two, three or four games good, it’s not enough, you are not finished.

“Sometimes in Croatia you can play two or three games good and then you can have one of medium quality. Here it needs to be all of the time on a high level.

“If you play 15 games here and 14 are good with one not so good, people are talking and that’s good. That’s a big club.

“So mentally it is very important that you are strong if you want to play at a club like Rangers.”

The impact that Barisic has had in recent weeks has been considerable as Gerrard's side have impressed. In particular, the partnership and understanding with Alfredo Morelos continues to flourish.

He said: “I’m happy for Alfredo. He doesn’t need to thank for me [for assists], maybe he just needs to give me some money! I’m just kidding!

“He’s a top class striker and I’m so pleased for him. I speak to him sometimes before games about where he needs to be sometimes when I have the ball and we talk about it, we have a very good connection.”