Croatia head coach Slaven Bilic unconcerned with potential Premier League move for Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic

The 43-year-old manager claims the forward will score goals wherever he goes and is not worried about the challenges a switch to a stronger league might bring for him

22 Dec 2011 12:49:00

By Oliver Platt

More On :  Croatia, Rangers, Nikica Jelavic, Slaven Bilic
Nikica Jelavic, Rangers
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Croatia head coach Slaven Bilic is unconcerned with the challenges Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic might face if he completes a potential switch to a stronger league in the January transfer window.
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Jelavic has been linked away from Ibrox to clubs such as Queens Park Rangers, and Bilic had no worries about his ability to cope in a division such as the Premier League.

"He'll either be scoring goals for Rangers or he'll be scoring them for someone else so I'm completely calm about it," Bilic told the Daily Record.

"People may say that if he moves to England then maybe his confidence might suffer if he is not scoring goals so easily.

"But I don't look at it from that perspective. I know him as a player and rate him highly.

"He has proved himself in Belgium, Austria and now Scotland. His confidence is sky high and he thinks he will continue to score goals at a higher level than the Scottish League.

"The better the league, the better player you should become and that is better for the national team."

Bilic also pointed out that Jelavic would not want to look back and regret taking the opportunity to play at a higher level.

"Maybe Nikica thinks - and I'm saying this theoretically - that he's going to be frustrated if he doesn't take the chance to move on now," he said.

"Maybe he'll end up asking himself, 'Why didn't I try a higher level when I had the chance?'

"But I'm very calm about it and I'm sure Nikica is too because whatever he does he can't lose."

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