Rangers manager Michael Beale gets bonus work done with squad in 1st-day training development
Michael Beale and his new Rangers staff were able to take first-team training on their first day after the session was delayed for them, Jordan Campbell reports.
The former QPR boss was officially announced as the 18th Gers boss on Monday evening (28 November), the same day that the players returned to Auchenhowie after time off during the World Cup break.
And it appears that despite the 42-year-old’s return to Ibrox being delayed slightly from the hoped-for weekend announcement, he was still able to get a key message to his new charges at the first opportunity with the bonus session.
Writing on his personal Twitter account following the announcement The Athletic’s Campbell said: “Training was delayed so Beale and his staff could take the session.
“They underwent conditioning/fitness tests but he had a message to the players.
“It was about playing enjoyable & dominant football again, but most importantly winning – and in style”.
Bonus
With Beale having emerged as the clear favourite to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst with the first couple of days after the Dutchman’s Monday (21 November) sacking it looked like he would be brought in imminently.
It took the best part of a week for the move to be completed, and it appeared that it might have meant the first day back at training would have been missed as a result, so it is certainly a positive development for things to have played out this way.
His message about winning in style will be music to the supporters’ ears after a lack of either so far this season, and the more time Beale and his staff get with the players before the return to domestic action the better in relation to that goal.
With a couple of weeks before the 10 December friendly against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen the former Steven Gerrard assistant has an invaluable period of time to work with the players thanks to the World Cup in Qatar.
Any other season he would have been thrown straight in, and with Rangers currently nine points off the top in the league he needs to take full advantage of any benefit he can.
Beale hasn’t made himself particularly popular at Wolves or QPR with has actions in the past couple of months, nor with the outgoing regime, but his connection to the club appears to have taken precedence over all other considerations, and if that leads to success on the pitch again soon then he is unlikely to be bothered about how he has reached this point.
Nor will the fans or the players, who badly needed a lift, and the job has now begun for bringing that very improvement about.
In other Rangers news, the new boss is getting his wish as another new appointment is now expected to join him.