'SO BE IT'

Rangers star Borna Barisic admits he’s reluctantly accepted Celtic being crowned Premiership champions

RANGERS star Borna Barisic admits he's reluctantly accepted Celtic being crowned Scottish champions, despite insisting he was desperate to play on this season.

The Hoops were awarded the Premiership title last week to make it nine-in-a-row, with Rangers trailing in second place 13 points behind with a game in hand.

Croatian stopper Barisic enjoyed an excellent season for Steven Gerrard's Gers before the coronavirus lockdown pandemic ended the campaign.

He would have been left back for his country too at the European Championships with Croatia due to have played two games at Hampden this summer.

But the 27-year-old admits he's accepted the setback and is just desperate to return to play football again after revealing his disappointment over the SPFL decision last week.

Barisic said: "I would have liked the league to have been played to a conclusion. Yes, we were 13 points behind Celtic, but as long as there was a mathematical chance to catch them, there was hope.

"But if this interruption is better for people's health, then so be it.

"I don't think my club Rangers voted to end the championship. We certainly wanted to continue the league, to play on, although admittedly I’m not one hundred percent sure truthfully whether Rangers voted for the break or not. But the clubs took a vote and that's it.

"I wasn't aware Hearts were taking legal action, but of course they still had a chance of getting themselves out of the relegation places.

"When the coronavirus story started, we all went home. I've been here for two-and-a-half months and I'm in training.

"I train alone, the club sends us exercises to work on. I have all the facilities for training, so I don't have any problems.

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"It’s not, of course, the same as it would be to train with a team, but luckily I have a nice yard where I can train, do specific exercises and run and I also have a gym at home, so I have all the equipment I need.

"I don't know when they will call us back to Glasgow. We have a return match with Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League, but it remains to be seen when everything will continue.

"Of course, it is a pity that the league was interrupted and the Euros postponed, especially for me.

"When I look at my situation, just about everything happened at the wrong time. But there's nothing I could have done about it. It is what it is. These circumstances happened, no one could influence them. Coronavirus is a global problem.

"Thank God, me and my family are all healthy. I don't know the exact situation in Scotland. I know there is isolation, but it's not the same situation as in England.

"For me, physical fitness is not a problem, but I miss the ball. It's hard to replace that feeling.

"I've never been on such a long break since the day I started playing football."

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