BORNA BARISIC came to the end of his first campaign at Rangers and knew that something had to change if he was to realise his Ibrox ambitions.
Now the Croatian - in his fifth season as a Rangers player - is determined to go from strength to strength once again after revealing the benefits of bringing a personal fitness and physio team to Glasgow.
Barisic was a mainstay of the side that lifted title 55 under Steven Gerrard and that Giovanni van Bronckhorst guided to the Europa League final and Scottish Cup success.
The return of Michael Beale has helped bring out the best in the left-back once again as he bids to help Rangers retain their silverware by overcoming Celtic on the road to further Hampden glory in the coming weeks.
Barisic has combined his work at Auchenhowie with extra sessions alongside a physio and fitness guru in recent seasons and detailed his dedication to the cause as he revealed he regularly travels to the training ground on his day off to put in the hours.
"I decided that myself," Barisic said of his call to hire extra help to fully prepare him for the rigours of life at Ibrox. "I would say I was always hard-working when I was in Croatia but you don’t see some things there that I saw here.
“I saw people were working more, they were going to the gym, using GPS things and these small tips help you to perform.
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“When my first season finished I went home and I was thinking about everything and what my problems were.
“When you are injured for one month, you need two or three weeks to come back and a few games.
“When you are injured four times in a row like me, it was very hard. I couldn’t do anything.
“So I realised that I had to be fitter and I need to figure out a way to do it.
“I have my own physio coming every month here and we are working for a couple of days.
“I have my personal fitness coach also, so we are working and everything is fine.
“It’s not easy, but I love to do it and it’s no problem for me to come in on my day off. I’m always here to work and be ready for the next game."
Barisic is now one of the most experienced members of the Ibrox squad and he will have a key part to play over the summer as boss Beale prepares to bring a host of fresh faces on board ahead of the new campaign.
The former Osijek star knows how difficult it can be to settle into a different country and team and he will be available to offer any advice he can to those that make the move to Glasgow in the coming weeks and months.
Barisic said: "Of course, what I have seen in the last five years, the people who come to the club are not from the U.K. and it takes time to adapt.
"There aren’t many players who have come here and played consistently straight away. It’s because it’s different training, different style of games.
"Everyone who will come will need help and of course I’m here because I know everything. In my first year I had a lot of injuries but I learned quickly.
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"After the first season I figured it out – I was weak. Not Croatian weak but for this level of intensity, where you are playing every three or four days. That’s not the same.
"Now we’re playing every week it’s much easier than when you play every three or four days. You have to be ready for that.
"I made myself ready during that pre-season after the first year and from that point I understood what was needed and everything has been fine."
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