David Martindale makes Michael Beale-Ange Postecoglou comparison ahead of Rangers clash v Livingston
Livingston boss David Martindale has made a bold suggestion that Michael Beale is now at par with Ange Postecoglou ahead of their Scottish Premiership match against Rangers on Saturday (18 February).
The Scottish manager feels that Beale has done an “incredible” job at Ibrox since replacing Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and Livingston will require a bit of luck to beat the Glasgow giants.
Postecoglou has done well at Celtic who have suffered just one defeat in the SPFL so far. Martindale still feels both Postecoglou and Beale are now “head-to-head”.
“How do you beat Rangers? You are going to need a bit of luck on the day. Am I correct in saying that Michael’s record is the same as Ange’s since he came in?,” said Martindale, as quoted by Daily Record.
“For me, Celtic are the best team in the country before Michael to Rangers. He’s come in and done a fantastic job, and him and Ange are now head-to-head.
“Obviously Celtic have got that head start with the points they have picked up previously, but I think it shows the job Michael has done. He’s done an incredible job since he came in.
“But it’s my job to focus on Livingston and how we take points off Rangers. It is going to be a lot more difficult than the previous two encounters this season in terms of the style of play, Michael’s brought his own identity.”
Identity
Beale has done an incredible job since taking charge but the comparison with Postecoglou is too premature at the moment.
The Celtic boss won the SPFL title last season, and the Bhoys are very consistent under him.
When Beale joined the Bears, the team was in a fragile state. The confidence was absolutely shattered and the club was heading in the wrong direction under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Beale’s primary task was to arrest this gradual decline. After making a winning start, the players started to play with confidence, and then it became easy for Beale to develop a playing identity.
He has made tweaks to his system and player positions, and it has worked very well so far.
Having said that, there’s still a lot of work left to be done. The title race is probably over as Celtic are not looking like they would drop points, but Beale can end the season strongly with cup wins.
He will have a massive task of rebuilding the squad next summer, and it’s better to judge him in one or two years’ time.
In other Rangers news, the club are in line for a multi-million windfall from the Premier League after a £10m Auchenhowie milestone was reached.