Dark arts master Michael Beale will add dirty side to Rangers – Andy Firth
Andy Firth believes Michael Beale has mastered the dark arts of football and deserves more credit for bringing a dirty side out of Rangers.
Beale returned to Rangers this winter to succeed Giovanni van Bronckhorst as manager, and he made a winning start to his tenure with a scrappy 3-2 win against Hibernian last week.
His previous stint at the club came as a coach, where he worked with Ex-Gers keeper Firth. The 26-year-old was speaking to The Athletic about Beale’s training methods this week, and Firth spoke highly about Beale’s dirty side.
“Tactically he’s got so many different ideas,” said Firth.
“The one thing he probably doesn’t get credit for is how much he loves the dirty side of football, mastering the dark arts like slowing the game down, cynical fouls and getting under people’s skin.
“He definitely added that to the Rangers team.”
An aggressive approach
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side never backed down from a challenge, whether it be mentally or physically. His Gers squad would always be able to match the strength and physicality of any opposition and perhaps that has something to do with Beale’s coaching.
It’s something he’ll be desperate to bring back to Ibrox after a number of fragile and weak-minded performances under Van Bronckhorst this season.
The Hibernian win was a good start, with his side recovering from 2-1 down at halftime to claim all three points. Whether fans like it or not, the dark arts of football will always be around and every team that wins titles uses them to their advantage.
Doing whatever it takes to win should be a part of every player’s mindset, whether that be through time-wasting, cynical tackles or winding up opposition players.
Beale adding that arrogance and aggression to this Rangers side is an exciting proposal, and hopefully it results in a more combative and hard-to-beat team.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner praises Michael Beale for his transparency with player injuries