Balancing act is vital for ‘football obsessive’ Beale

NO ONE is quite sure who first described life in Glasgow for footballers as being akin to living in a goldfish bowl but their metaphor has stood the test of time. In a city where passion for the game is the equal of anywhere in the world, personal space can often be hard to come by. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on the respective fortunes of Celtic and Rangers. Few feel inclined to keep them to themselves. For those personalities on both sides of the divide, being public property is just part of the territory. You don’t become invisible when you take off the jersey. The demands and intensity of Rangers were key to Michael Beale returning to the club in November. And for as long as he is in and around the training ground, the stadium or the city, he’ll gladly embrace them. Not for him, though, the kind of existence that knows nothing other than inquisitive noses being pressed up against the glass. Stirlingshire is just a short hop from his place of employment but it feels a world away in so many other respects. ‘I live in a really nice part of the country,’ Beale said. ‘I’m a bit of a hide and seek champion as you wouldn’t be able to find me outside of my job. ‘I like that because it enables me to go to the countryside and spend time with my family. ‘It’s great having young children. They tend to take your mind away from things a little bit. But the rest of it — I love being here. I’m a football obsessive. I like being in the club. It’s what drives me. ‘I don’t see what I do as work. I think if you can do that in life then you are very lucky. ‘I think anyone who’s a football player or manager needs to remind themselves of that when we are moaning about travelling, staying in nice hotels and playing football matches which are fantastic events. A lot of people would love to be in our position. That’s never lost on me. ‘I’m living what I wanted to live as a young boy so I’m a very fortunate person.’ The conscious decision to literally put some distance between family life and work has served him well. Since agreeing to leave Queens Park Rangers in November, Beale has presided over 11 wins and a draw. The honeymoon period has lasted for longer than probably he even dared to think it would. Aspects of the post are far more demanding than the one he had in London but he anticipated that would be the case. ‘The exposure that it gives you and the demands on your time,’ he explained. ‘Those are important. So you have to have your ideas for football aligned with your staff and your club because you don’t want to be fighting that. ‘A lot of things come to you as a manager that you don’t see, a lot of personal things. ‘You have players who have setbacks with injuries and others who are out of contract. So you have to manage all of that. ‘You need a really good staff around you and to be aligned as a club, which we are. ‘In terms of the football side, I thought I was a good fit for this club as I’d worked here before and I knew a lot of the people. The job hasn’t surprised me in any way.’ Beale’s personal touch was required this week to ensure Ridvan Yilmaz was coping with the horrific news unfolding from Turkey. ‘You send your condolences as we’ve all seen the really sad news and the bits on TV,’ Beale (right) said of the earthquake. ‘It’s tragic. I had a little conversation with Ridvan on it, not a big one. ‘He’s out training and is close to a return and that’s what he’s focused on.’ Rangers’ focus tomorrow is ensuring they remain on course to retain the Scottish Cup. A Championship and League One side when he was first at the club, Partick Thistle are an unfamiliar opponent for the Rangers manager. The same cannot be said of the man who’ll stand in the opposing dugout. ‘I know Cally (Ian McCall) really well,’ he explained. ‘He is a guy I have known since I first came up to Glasgow. He has become a bit of a friend in that time as well. ‘He sent me a lovely letter when I got my job at QPR, which was lovely of him to do and a nice gesture that managers do for each other. ‘I thought he showed a touch of class. He is someone that we have loaned players to before and loaned players to this year, someone I know outside of football and I wish him well. ‘I look at his squad and they have got a lot of Premiership experience in the team. I think it will be an interesting game. They are bringing 2,500 fans as well, which shows the support they have got.’ A home draw against a team from the division below gives Beale’s side an excellent chance of reaching the last eight. As ever on such occasions, provided their attitude is what it needs to be, the result should take care of itself. ‘We need to keep pushing our standards and not dropping from it in terms of our attitude and energy,’ said the manager. ‘I am still looking for a greater level of performance, albeit at times I think we have played very well. I still want to push for more. ‘Listen, you never know how many years you have got left in the game, regardless of where you are in your career. ‘We are a club that thinks we can win, thinks we can get to cup finals and we have got one to look forward to (in the League Cup) and we want to add to that with another one.’ Kemar Roofe is back in training and could return quicker than expected although neither John Souttar nor Tom Lawrence will be in contention any time soon. John Lundstram also misses out but should return to play against Livingston next weekend.