STEVEN GERRARD has backed Borna Barisic to win over his Ibrox critics and use his performance against Feyenoord to kick-start his Rangers career.
The Croatian has often come in for stick from Gers supporters in recent months as he has struggled to bring his international form into the domestic game.
But he has always retained the faith of Gerrard and his staff as he looks to make a sustained impact in his second term in Scottish football.
Boss Gerrard also has Jon Flanagan and Andy Halliday at his disposal for the left-back berth but it is Barisic - a £1.5million signing from Osijek last summer - that has the most to prove at present.
The 26-year-old scored his first goal for Gerrard’s side in the win over St Mirren last month and reaffirmed his commitment to the cause at Ibrox.
Now Gerrard is confident there is plenty more to come from Barisic after he rose to the occasion on Thursday night and helped Rangers to a deserved 1-0 triumph in their Group G opener at Ibrox.
He said: “I think that was probably his strongest performance in a Rangers shirt, I would say.
“We, as a staff, have got a lot of confidence and belief in Borna, that is the reason we went out and got him. I think that is certainly the case from a Croatia point of view as well because he seems to be the number one left-back for Croatia.
“I know there are a lot of opinions in the media and amongst the supporters, which is fine, and a lot of that is mixed, towards Borna. But if Borna can find that level of performance on a consistent basis then I think he can win those people over.
“He has certainly got the respect of me as a manager and that performance is the level that I am looking for on a consistent basis. Last year, he had quite a few injuries and a lot of disruption in terms of a run of games.
“This year he has been more robust. There was a bit of speculation going on in the background towards the end of the window and we tried to protect him from that.
“But now he needs to try and build on that performance and if he can get that regularly then I am sure he can win everyone over.
“He doesn’t have to win me over because I have got that confidence and belief in him anyway and I have seen it.
“I have played against it and seen it since he has come. I want to see it more consistently because he is capable.”
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