Popular Post Vision 16,729 Posted January 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 30, 2019 Nikola Katic revealed how pep talks from defensive legend Richard Gough helped fuel his desire to win his place back in the Rangers team. The Croatian stopper opened up on a difficult two months at Ibrox after Steven Gerrard dropped him after a dip in the standards he showed in a solid start to his Light Blues career. It’s hard to believe a manager finding much wrong with a team that won 7-1 but it was after Gers dished out that thumping scoreline to Motherwell that Katic was benched. That emphatic victory on November 11 came just days after Gerrard watched some kamikaze defending in the 4-3 Europa League defeat to Spartak Moscow in Russia. Katic also had some shaky moments in the 4-1 win at Hamilton in the previous game and it came to head in that match against the Steelmen. The 22-year-old admitted going from starring in front of sell-out Ibrox crowds to playing for the reserves in front of the proverbial two men and a dog was hard to take. But he never lost faith and turned in a performance that made him a man of the match contender on his return in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Livingston. Gerrard yesterday spoke of his love of warrior-like defenders as he highlighted former team-mates Jamie Carragher and John Terry as two examples of stoppers he admired. Rangers nine-in-a-row skipper Gough is another who had a never-say-die attitude and Katic is grateful to the former Scotland defender for some sound advice during his time out. Katic, hoping to keep his place in the team for tonight’s Scottish Cup tie at Cowdenbeath with Connor Goldson still crocked, said: “I have met Richard Gough a few times. “He always tries to give me some advice. He is a big player with a lot of experience, a legend, so I’m always happy when I get to chat with him and try to learn some stuff. “He knows everything about Rangers. He knows about the expectation of the crowd because it is a big club so you always need to be 100 per cent. “When I was out of the team and the squad, he told me to still believe that I was playing for Rangers, push hard every single day and be ready for the chance. “It was very good for me to come back and get game time after a long period. It was a tough game for us, everyone knows how Livingston play at home. “It is an Astro pitch and they are a physical team so it was tough to go there after two or three months and start but I am very happy with the result. “It was more difficult mentally when I didn’t play but I was pushing hard all the time in training, trying to get a chance to show on the pitch that I am ready. “For the first two months I played every single game and when I was first left out of the squad I said to myself ‘ok, I will be in next time’. “I had a few games where I played really good, at the start of the season in the Europa League was much better. But when we beat Motherwell 7-1 at Ibrox I wasn’t at the right level in the first half. “So the manager took me out and explained what I had to do. I respect him, I trust him and I was pushing hard and waiting for a chance. “The improvements I had to make was to be more comfortable on the pitch, show more confidence, be stronger in the air and be more clever. “There were a few stupid fouls around the box against MotHerwell. We know how they play, they throw it in to the box and try to score. I played a more intelligent game against Livingston. “I played two or three times for the reserve team but the tempo is not the same. It wasn’t like the Scottish league or European games, but it was good just to feel the ball and play with the guys. It was an empty stadium but I was happy to feel the ball and get game time. “My mentality is to be warrior-like and why the manager took me here to Rangers and gave me a chance to play for such a club. “When I was younger, I liked players like Carles Puyol, who was a leader on the pitch. The gaffer was the same, he organised everything around himself and I want to be that type of player in the future. “When I started to play football as a kid I was a goalkeeper, but then I wanted to become a central defender. I wanted to play.” Gerrard praised Katic’s response as he spoke of the qualities he looks for in a defender. He said: “I like defenders to defend the goal and the club for their life. “I was the type of player who always preferred a Jamie Carragher or John Terry-like defender. I’m not really keen on the frills, Cruyff turns and showboating of a defender. “Certain managers have certain styles. Some are obsessed with building from the back and overplaying at the back. “If you’ve got the best players in the world at Barcelona or you’re Pep Guardiola then I understand - you can absolutely kill teams with the ball. “But we’re not there yet and we have to play to our strengths and our strength is that we have honest lads who will do all they can to keep clean sheets and I think they proved that at the weekend. “Niko came back after the winter break and he was really focused with a determination to break back into the team. He’s been very strong in training and he deserved the opportunity and he took it with both hands.” GlasgowsBlue, LegendofCoop, JackAlex93 and 14 others 17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzalivesforever 1,987 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Big Niko will be a quality player for us. He's stl young and will only mature with experience. Blumhoilann and eejay the dj 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WATP-FOREVER 5,231 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Katic & Goldson are our top two CB's - McAuley next and Worrall fourth. We can win this league this year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RangersMedia 35,961 Posted January 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 30, 2019 i don't want to see Niko Katic's name on the bench behind Worrall or McAuley ever again Prso's headband, Essandoh, siddiqi_drinker and 2 others 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoopsLaud 4,186 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I like this new positive aura that is around katic now. Whether it was personal stuff for the kid, or there was some some sort of problem gerrard had with him for some reason, a shadow seems to have lifted which is brilliant considering what a tremendous player he could be. Everything crossed for a goldson/katic pairing for the remainder of the season and the lifting of some silverware. Also great to see Rangers legends like gough being used in such a positive way to help young foreign guys when needed. Lets go! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vision 16,729 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Joe Worrell probably gave a pep talk to Richard Gough Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1690tamRFC 5,001 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Good read, and I’m glad Katic seems to be getting over whatever issues he had as going forward I honestly think he will be superb for us. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueKnight87 17,302 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 It's good to see him back into the team. Once Goldson is fit it should be him and Katic for the rest of the season. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopCat 4,511 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Great to have the big man back in the side. I rate him highly. His performance and clean sheet the other day should really boost his confidence. Goldson and Katic should be our defensive partnership when both are fit and able to play. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyscott1963 18,407 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Get fucked into them Niko,do not take prisoners and you will end up the player we hoped you were going to be. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusDa Beasley 1,035 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Can’t get my head round the love-in with Katic. 3 decent games 6 months ago. He’s a bomb scare positionally and can’t pass it 5 yards. Worrall is hopeless but still twice the player Katic is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drum 160 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 5 hours ago, Vision said: Joe Worrell probably gave a pep talk to Richard Gough Who's Joe Worrell? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtyard Bear 41,357 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 22 minutes ago, MarcusDa Beasley said: Can’t get my head round the love-in with Katic. 3 decent games 6 months ago. He’s a bomb scare positionally and can’t pass it 5 yards. Worrall is hopeless but still twice the player Katic is. Put the fishing rod away ya fool. Real Ranger, LegendofCoop and Bears r us 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegendofCoop 17,364 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Love the guy and really chuffed he's got the shirt back. Hopefully he holds onto it now & builds on his new found confidence. scottyscott1963 and eejay the dj 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eejay the dj 31,964 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 6 hours ago, Gazzalivesforever said: Big Niko will be a quality player for us. He's stl young and will only mature with experience. He is better than the 2 that played so badly last Wednesday .That is a certainty Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eejay the dj 31,964 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 53 minutes ago, MarcusDa Beasley said: Can’t get my head round the love-in with Katic. 3 decent games 6 months ago. He’s a bomb scare positionally and can’t pass it 5 yards. Worrall is hopeless but still twice the player Katic is. On what evidence ? One decent OF performance where our other 9 outfield players were immense Katic is head and shoulders more reliable than Worral siddiqi_drinker, billscott and scottyscott1963 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusDa Beasley 1,035 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 33 minutes ago, eejay the dj said: On what evidence ? One decent OF performance where our other 9 outfield players were immense Katic is head and shoulders more reliable than Worral He’s been dropped for months. So clearly Gerrard and the rest of the staff don’t rate him either. Worrall might chip a goal every 10 games but Katic looks uncomfortable 90% of the time he’s on the pitch. The optimism around him is down to the fact we’ve forgotten how bad he is since he’s been nowhere near the starting 11. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Hair Bear 110 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 2 hours ago, MarcusDa Beasley said: He’s been dropped for months. So clearly Gerrard and the rest of the staff don’t rate him either. Worrall might chip a goal every 10 games but Katic looks uncomfortable 90% of the time he’s on the pitch. The optimism around him is down to the fact we’ve forgotten how bad he is since he’s been nowhere near the starting 11. Did you even read the article he lost his place and got it back good for him seems to have the motivation now to get stuck in. eejay the dj 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eejay the dj 31,964 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 5 hours ago, MarcusDa Beasley said: He’s been dropped for months. So clearly Gerrard and the rest of the staff don’t rate him either. Worrall might chip a goal every 10 games but Katic looks uncomfortable 90% of the time he’s on the pitch. The optimism around him is down to the fact we’ve forgotten how bad he is since he’s been nowhere near the starting 11. Absolute tosh 😂 Courtyard Bear and SwallowsHisOwnSpunk 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dov 21 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Watched him few times when his ex club Slaven Belupo played in Zagreb. It was obvious straight away that he will become good player. One of better signings in last few years imo. elliotblu, Blumhoilann and eejay the dj 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essandoh 21,217 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 17 hours ago, MarcusDa Beasley said: Can’t get my head round the love-in with Katic. 3 decent games 6 months ago. He’s a bomb scare positionally and can’t pass it 5 yards. Worrall is hopeless but still twice the player Katic is. Get your eyes checked pal and your head while you’re at it eejay the dj, SwallowsHisOwnSpunk, Courtyard Bear and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumbGER 24,518 Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 This article puts to bed some of the shite spouted in here, earlier in the season, about his situation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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