Johnson: Gio lost his job because of Celtic’s form
Lee Johnson believes the jury will be out on Michael Beale until he has experienced the ups and downs of 200 games in management.
His Hibernian will provide the new Rangers boss with the first competitive opponents at Ibrox on Thursday night.
The Hibees manager is convinced Beale’s predecessor, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, deserved more time to ride out this season’s difficulties after last season’s Europa League run and Scottish Cup success.
And Johnson insists there was a basic reason for the Light Blues’ recent struggles under the Dutchman – they are simply second-best to Celtic.
“I’m always an advocate of keeping managers in place, because I think they are often blamed for the results when normally there’s a bigger picture,” said Johnson.
“The pressure falls on the manager because it’s their name on the door. But if I believed I had the right man in place, I would give him an adequate amount of transfer windows to change it round.
“With Rangers, maybe the expectation was so high, and sometimes you can be a victim of your own success.
“I think it’s a classic example of that, but we’ll only know that in a year to 18 months, depending on how the new regime does.
“Gio could walk away with his head held high, look himself in the mirror and know he did absolutely everything he could.
“Celtic are a top side, and obviously they’re chasing those guys. Looking at it from the outside, they’re just not as good. Simple as that.
“I’m not there to judge. I don’t watch every game. All I see is a good man who’s worked his socks off and lost his job.
“But the king is dead, long live the king, and good luck to ‘Bealo’ – after we’ve played them!
“I don’t know him really well. We’ve only ever bumped into each other at coaching courses.
“However, he’s done well. He markets himself well, he worked really well with Steven Gerrard, went down to QPR and had a good start.
“But I’m always one to say: ‘Show me a manager after 200 games when he’s been through everything.’ So I think the jury is out until he’s been through the ups and downs that number of games creates.”
Johnson is fully aware the appointment of Beale presents Hibs with a different proposition, going to a raucous and expectant Ibrox. He insists, however, the message to his players will not change.
“There are a lot of challenges, and obviously the crowd is the first one,” added the former Hearts and Kilmarnock midfielder.
“I’ve played at Ibrox before, and it’s a fantastic crowd in terms of noise and volume. Our players have got to be resilient to that, and make good decisions.
“I think it was Sir Clive Woodward who used the T-cup analogy – Thinking Correctly Under Pressure.
“That’s the case whether you’re at home in your comfortable environment in front of your own fans or whether you’re away.
“The best players make good decisions more often. That’s our challenge – to go there and make very good decisions.
“We feel we can beat Rangers, but everything has to go right.
“We have to make sure we’re absolutely on point with our attitude, our commitment, our organisation, and our confidence to go and get a result there.”