Rangers star claims they've got the right 'mindset' for title charge amid hunt for first ever major honour
His only other previous trophy was the Scottish League Two title under the stewardship of Kevin Thomson
Connor Barron is certain Rangers have the right mentality going into the Premiership run-in as he seeks his first piece of silverware since a short term spell at Kelty Hearts.
During his time at Aberdeen, the midfielder was signed by Kevin Thomson for the Fife side in 2021 on a season-long loan. At 18, Barron helped them to the Scottish League Two title as the club secured back-to-back promotions. Since then, he’s featured in a League Cup final for the Dons and Rangers, but only earned a runners-up medal on both occasions.
Four years on, the midfielder is now a Scotland International and has played an instrumental role in Rangers’ title charge when fit. Barron was a mainstay in Danny Rohl’s side before suffering a freak knee ligament injury which subsequently led to two months in the treatment room.
Having come off the bench in the last four outings, the 23-year old is slowly but surely getting back up to full speed and with Rangers now set for a warm-weather training camp in Spain before they host Motherwell in two weeks, Barron can now fully focus on getting himself ready for the all-important post-split fixtures.
Rangers star chases first major honour
Despite going two goals down at the Falkirk Stadium, Rangers responded emphatically against the Bairns, eventually emerging 6-3 victors. The squad’s mentality has been heavily scrutinised in previous seasons, having lost out to Celtic in the league four years running, however Barron believes he and his teammates have the desired ‘mindset’ to go all the way.
The dramatic nature of the contest created an atmosphere more akin to a casino than a typical Scottish Premiership encounter, with momentum swinging wildly before Rangers eventually took full control.
He told Sky Sports: "We've got a really strong group, we've come through a lot this season, and we're in a great position at the moment. We've definitely got the right mindset, everyone's pushing in the right direction, everyone's hungry to go and win the league, and hopefully we can go and do it.
“It's obviously the first time for me (being in title contention). It's something that this club thrives off, being in this sort of position. I was disappointed last season that we weren't up there and fighting for it, but we've got a massive opportunity ahead of us this season. It would mean everything.”
Barron outlines individual goals since injury return
The midfielder came on for Thelo Aasgaard in the 77th minute in the nine-goal thriller at the weekend after watching his fellow maestros, Tochi Chukwuani and Nico Raskin both get on the scoresheet against Falkirk. Given the strong form of the pair, Barron now faces a challenge to reinstate himself back into the starting XI, however, he insists full focus is regaining full match fitness to help the team for the run-in.
He continued: "Yeah, it's obviously good to be back, good to be back on the pitch, training and being involved in the games as well. I'm just hungry for more. I'm ready and just need to keep going, showing what I can do and keeping my standards high every day to get myself back into the team. It was a struggle to sit up here and watch the games, but fortunately we were winning, so it was enjoyable to watch that we were winning games of football and we're in a great position now.
"I felt like I was in a good place and in a good run of form. I was playing consistently, and yeah, I really felt like I was in a good place. So, it wasn't nice to get that [injury], but yeah, these things happen in football, it's sometimes part of it, but it's just about how you bounce back from it."