Win, lose or draw, Beale’s squad needs surgery

A DELOREAN is no use to Michael Beale now. He can’t programme the flux capacitor and fire this Rangers team back to the days of Stevie G. There’s no anti-ageing treatment on the market to trim a couple of years off James Tavernier, Steven Davis or Allan McGregor. No bag of swag to persuade Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent to sign those new contracts and crack on with the day job. No way of luring Joe Aribo or Calvin Bassey back to Ibrox. If Beale can extract another ten per cent from players he knows well from his first spell at Ibrox, that’s all well and good. Beat Celtic on Monday and Beale (right) might even fancy his chances of ringing one last tune out of an old piano. Yet, even a dramatic push for the title can’t alter the blunt realities facing the new boss. This Rangers squad needs a surgical procedure. And with the values of Morelos and Kent diminishing with every passing week, the funds to pay for the op will be limited. Fretting over what Celtic are up to is pointless. Nine points clear at the top of the league, the Parkhead club have made their third signing of the window in Japanese utility man Tomoki Iwata. On and off the park, Ange Postecoglou has a clearheaded, no-nonsense plan for what he wants and where he wants to go.

The one question no one can answer is how long he plans to be there. The average shelf life of an Old Firm manager now is three to four years and, at 57, the day might come when the Australian finds an offer from the English Premier League hard to resist. When that day comes, Rangers have to be ready to take advantage. That means prudent, astute signings from new markets. It means fresh faces, fresh legs and fresh impetus. Regardless of the result against Celtic, it’s time to rip the squad up and start again.