BT pundit warns Rangers wizard Michael Beale vs Celtic ex-laughing stock Ange Postecoglou
Michael Beale’s start at Rangers has been “so far so good” but pressure isn’t far away as he looks to take on Celtic, according to Kevin Thomson.
The recently appointed Light Blues manager showed some positive signs with his side’s 3-0 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday (10 December), and has been widely backed for his ability as a coach but Thomson has warned him it will mean nothing without winning games and reeling in the Old Firm rivals.
Beale’s return to Glasgow hasn’t seen him contend with the kind of doubts that Ange Postecoglou did upon his arrival from Yokohama in June 2021, and the praise that Thomson had for the Australian will show Beale what he is up against.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Monday (12 December) the former Ibrox man said: “There’s no doubt that Mick Beale’s a wizard on the training pitch and the boys will really buy into his training.
“The harsh reality is he’ll know as well as I do, and all the players, that when you aren’t winning games and when you aren’t top of the league, second in nothing in Scotland.
“So the pressure will come, and he’ll know that it’ll come, but so far so good.”
On the Gers boss’ opposite number in Glasgow Thomson said: “It’s mad to think the kind of laughing stock that Ange was when he first came to Scotland, he was getting battered from pillar to post in the media.
“He’s always stayed with real respect and quality really as an individual, I think he carries himself with real class which is refreshing because sometimes outside voices in the media can be difficult when you come under scrutiny.
“But I have to say the way he’s conducted himself has been a breath of fresh air.”
Head to head
Beale’s inexperience throws up some doubts, with just 22 games in charge of QPR before taking the Rangers job, but his previous role as coach under Steven Gerrard has largely shielded him from the kind of scrutiny he would likely otherwise have had.
If the Leverkusen win is anything to go by he has already lifted the atmosphere within the squad, but as Thomson says, the buoyant mood won’t last long if he doesn’t start picking up points from the get-go.
The 2 January Old Firm derby is a huge opportunity to send a message back across Glasgow that Postecoglou isn’t going to have it all his own way in the SPFL any more.
Much like Arsene Wenger when he took over at Arsenal the Bhoys boss has proven the doubters wrong in the past 18-months, but Gers fans will have long grown impatient at having to admit any grudging respect they have for their rivals’ manager.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst came off second best in the head to head rivalry and Beale has a sizeable task to right that wrong.
But if he can put doubts over his own suitability to rest in something like the same way then fortunes should be looking up around Ibrox before too long.
In other Rangers news, Graeme Spiers reacted to footage of one unpopular club figure taking flack that Beale could feel the heat coming off.