By Anthony Onifade

16th Feb, 2023 | 9:10am

Michael Beale plans Rangers exodus in summer, Ibrox boss warns stars they are playing for their futures

Rangers boss Michael Beale has insisted he is planning a mass exodus at Rangers this summer as his squad is too big and has warned his stars they are playing for their future at Ibrox.

The club currently have a whopping 33 players as part of their first-team squad, although many of them have been hampered with injuries over the course of the last year.

The former Queens Park Rangers boss has stated he is hoping to trim his squad by around 11 players, after acquiring the services of both Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin in the January window.

Speaking to RangersTV [transcribed by FootballScotland, 15 February] he said: “We have too many players is my opinion. There’s a reason we’ve carried one or two more, we’ve had injury problems and we’ve had to supplement that.

“When I say we have too many we have young players out on loan as well so when pre-season starts they’re all back in the building. I want all the players to have clarity in their role in the squad and it’s difficult the more players you have.

“If I look at the top teams in the top leagues, like Arsenal at the minute have the most consistent eleven and I know from being at Liverpool when they won that was the case as well. When we won the league we had a core of seven or eight that play.

“With the amount of subs in the match day squad now I want everyone to feel engaged and involved in the squad. I want everyone to feel their best days are in front of them and to know the pecking order to get in the team and what role they’ve got.”

Rebuild underway

Rangers will certainly need to cut down such a huge squad, which means they and Beale are in for a huge summer ahead as they look to fully challenge Celtic next season.

To do that, Beale will need players who want to play for the club as well as quality players all throughout both the first XI and on the bench, and every individual pulling in the same direction. That cannot happen with players who have uncertain futures, or who are looking elsewhere for opportunities.

Between now and the summer, Beale will need to make a huge decision on who he wants and the players he wants out. So many of his stars are facing uncertain futures right now which will need to be swiftly addressed.

A proper squad of 20-23 players with every player playing on the same hymn sheet and pulling in the same directions is what’s needed to win the top titles in the future, and the mass exodus that’s about to take place means this summer could be the club’s most important one for a long while.

In other Rangers news, the Ibrox bank is set for a cash boost after a document emerged on Wednesday.