Rangers to play behind-closed-doors friendly v Swansea as Michael Beale appointed
Rangers are set to play a behind-closed-doors friendly against Swansea City ahead of their return to league action, as reported by The Times.
Michael Beale was confirmed as the Light Blues’ new manager on Monday (28 November) and the 42-year-old has already got to work at Auchenhowie with his players.
The Gers will face Russell Martin’s Swansea side before they host Bayer Leverkusen at Ibrox in Beale’s first game in front of fans on 10 December, five days before their League campaign restarts against Hibernian (The Times, 28 November).
Fresh start
This is now a fresh start for Rangers and all involved with the club. Beale will divide opinion amongst fans, but ultimately there should be a relief that a new man is in the dugout after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s poor start to the season. It won’t be a quick fix, and there will be bumps along the road, but Beale is clearly a talented coach who certainly knows the ins and outs of Ibrox.
Getting some midseason fixtures into the schedule was a must for Rangers, with the players being starved of any meaningful action for a number of weeks. Furthermore, it will allow Beale to ease himself into the job and assess what needs to change going forward.
It will be a baptism of fire for the 42-year-old, with Rangers facing a crucial Old Firm clash against Celtic at the start of January. A positive result for Beale’s men will blow the title race wide open again. Ange Postecoglou’s side have shown they can be beatable in recent months, and that should give Rangers confidence heading into a crucial part of the season.
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