It hasn’t taken Antonio Colak long to silence the Ibrox critics who rushed to write him off after just two Rangers run-outs.
Now Borna Barisic has backed his Croatian compatriot to give the Light Blues legions something to really shout about after the striker responded to his premature panning by banging in four goals in as many games. Punters and pundits were guilty of dispensing snap judgments on the former PAOK poacher after his low-key debut at Livingston.
He was quiet again as Rangers delivered another below-par performance in the shock 2-0 defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise in their Champions League opener, prompting Ibrox legend Mark Hateley to issue his brutal “waste of time” verdict . But Colak has quickly vindicated his continuing involvement, tucking home one clinical finish after the other to provide his side with a perfect start to the league campaign as well as keeping them on track for a return to UEFA’s top table.
He bagged the all-important equaliser as the Light Blues performed a stirring rescue mission to see off Union at Ibrox and followed that up with another crucial strike in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with PSV, a result that leaves Gio van Bronckhorst ’s squad finally poised as they prepare for their final group-stage eliminator at the Philips Stadion next Wednesday.
Along with Premiership goals against St Johnstone and Killie, it has been a more than decent start from the former Malmo man. But Barisic reckons the Rangers faithful ain’t seen nothing yet from his international pal.
“I’m very happy for him,” said the left-back. “Antonio has started very well for us and I knew he would. He is very happy to be with Rangers. He brings a lot of energy to the team and has already scored four goals so he is making a good impact.
“I am sure there is more to come from him. He showed it at Malmo and showed it with Rijeka where he scored 20-plus goals. From what I can see in training every day he is very focused, very determined and he has listened to the things I told him about the club.
“I just explained to him about the fans, pressure and the passion for football here and he has taken all of that in. You can see how well he has adapted by the start he has made to his Rangers career.”
Colak has already received his manager’s backing, with van Bronckhorst showing by deeds and not just his words that he fully trusts the man he brought in to challenge Alfredo Morelos.
Barisic added: “You just have to look at Tuesday’s game to see that he stayed on the pitch for the whole 90 minutes when someone like Morelos is on the bench so that shows the confidence the manager has in him. He can see the energy and the quality he can bring so I’m really pleased for Antonio.”
Colak lacks the bulldozing potential that has made Morelos such a handful for defences. But he certainly knows how to worry keepers with the pin-point accuracy of his shooting. He showed that again on Tuesday night as he swept home with a fabulous first-time finish as Gers went toe-to-toe with Ruud van Nistlerooy’s PSV in part one of their play-off double-header.
His goal and a fortunate Tom Lawrence free-kick edged Rangers ahead after Ibrahim Sangare had opened the scoring for the Dutch visitors but they’re heading to Holland all square after a late lapse provided Armando Obispo the chance to level up again.
“We are disappointed that we were 2-1 in front and let that go by losing a late goal but overall we can take a lot of positives from the first leg with PSV because we played good football,” said Barisic, who was given the nod to start ahead of £4million summer signing Ridvan Yilmaz.
“We knew before the first game that it was going to be difficult – there was no way it was going to be a 4-0 or 5-0. They are a good team. So we know what we have to do next week.
“First of all we have to focus on Hibs but we know what we have to do in Holland and we have shown in previous games that we can perform well away from home. We are 90 minutes away from the Champions League – and of course it is the same for them. So we will go there positive and with confidence.”
READ NEXT
