‘ There’s always a disaster waiting around the corner’
Beale knows life at big club is fraught with danger but insists Rangers can only focus on game in front of them
THE steps forward – some more significant than others – have been taken at a steady pace as Michael Beale leads Rangers on his own Ibrox journey. The setback will come at some point. When it does, it is a matter of how significant it is and what the lasting ramifications are for a side that are still on the road to recovery.
Seven wins and an Old Firm draw from his first eight matches in charge represents a pleasing start on Beale’s return to Glasgow. He knows better than anyone that you are only as good as your last game, however, and the next one definitely falls into the must- win category for Rangers.
Victory over Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup semi- final was followed by a hard- fought success at Kilmarnock as the deficit to Celtic was kept steady at nine points. The week so far has been pleasing but Rangers will only get full pass marks, in terms of results at least, if St Johnstone are overcome in the Scottish Cup.
There has been plenty for Beale to be positive about since he succeeded Giovanni van Bronckhorst as boss but Rangers are still some way from the levels they need to be at this term, never mind those that the Englishman wishes to reach as he seeks to raise the bar at Ibrox. Progress has been welcomed, but Beale won’t be getting too far ahead of himself.
Falling behind in half of his matches is an obvious concern but it is offset by three clean sheets in five. The concession of six goals from set pieces must be addressed, yet 19 goals scored is an encouraging return from a squad that are still short in terms of personnel and quality.
“I think so,” Beale said when asked if his players were heading in the right direction. “Let’s navigate [ the St Johnstone game]. I’m aware we’re a big club and there’s always a disaster waiting around the corner.
“We can’t come off of it and we’re still trying to push consistency in the way that we play. Consistency in team selection because I think then the relationships on the pitch are stronger.
“I don’t think it’s that complex. I think if players play together a lot their understanding of each other is good.
“If they like the way the team’s playing, if you collaborate with them and get their opinion on the way the team’s playing and then you go out and train it, you drive the standards. I think, generally, I start from a position of strength.
“It’s a fantastic football club and it’s got strong players in the country that we play in. My job is to try and get some harmony and cohesion.
“We’ve managed to do that the last few weeks but we’re far from where I want us to be if I’m honest. We’ve still got quite a long way to go.
“Having said that, we’re dominating possession and scoring goals which is a good sign so if we can tighten up on some moments where a bit anxious then we’ll be alright. I prefer the team to bold in those moments and not on the back foot, just stay on the front foot.”
The process that Rangers are on will be expedited as players return from injury and new faces arrive in the transfer window. The side that
finishes this season will look very different to the one that starts Beale’s first full campaign at the helm and time will be a healer for many of the issues that have plagued the Rangers squad this term.
Given the schedule and the demands, there is a degree of learning on the job for Beale, his staff and his players and he used the example of Malik Tillman, who was left out of the starting line- up for the win at Rugby Park, as an example of the considerations that must be made after the manager felt the midfielder was perhaps ill- prepared for the unique challenge on the plastic pitch.
The focus in the transfer market has been and will be to find players that fit into the dressing room as well as the team. Beale knows what he wants to see from prospective signings, but also from the majority of the squad that he has worked with previously.
Beale said: “Coming back into the club, it was very interesting to speak to the same players that I was part of that journey with three or four years ago, where are they now because they’ve been here three or four years and they’ve won a league and played in a European final, they’ve won the Scottish Cup and they’ve had some disappointments.
“Where are they now? Do I still feel that flame’s really burning? That’s different for each individual. People move their minds and move their motivation and other people retain it. It’s important I bring people in that can drive this club forward over the next couple of years. It’s not just me, I want to feel that I’ve got players in the squad that I’m going on a journey with.”
Beale pinpointed the areas of improvement that would lead to him having ‘ a few more calmer afternoons and evenings’ before Rangers departed their Auchenhowie base on Friday afternoon. He takes satisfaction from his side not forcing the issue in times of pressure on or off the park but acknowledged they must ‘ tighten up’ defensively to avoid giving themselves as much work to do and conceding first, as they have done four times, is not sustainable in the longer term.
The McDiarmid Park fixture has all the hallmarks of an intriguing, yet entertaining cup tie. It is one where Rangers will have the overwhelming majority of supporters in the stadium and sending them away from Perth with a win - as was the case in Ayrshire thanks to an Alfredo Morelos brace and Ryan Kent effort - is the main objective for Michael Beale.
“There’s always some red flags in every performance but no performance in football’s perfect,” Beale said. “We go to Rugby park the other night, we concede early and we have 72% of possession and score three goals so when people say to me afterwards, ‘ what about this that went wrong?’, well what about the three goals we scored that got us the three points coming back from a goal behind?
“So I just need to keep working on things, making sure the group’s aware of where to tighten up but in the main I’m really happy. The expectation here at the start of the season is always huge.
“I’ve come in during in the middle of it and tried to maybe turn some things around if you like. We’ve got to one cup final, we won this trophy last year for the first time in 12 years so it’s important that we’re still in the hat on Saturday evening.”
We can’t come off of it and we’re still trying to push consistency in the way that we play