Chris Sutton heaps pressure on Michael Beale ahead of Rangers vs Celtic final, claims manager hasn’t backed up his talk
Chris Sutton has heaped the pressure on Rangers boss Michael Beale ahead of the Viaplay Cup final against Celtic by claiming he hasn’t backed up his talk since returning to Scotland.
The two sides of the Glasgow derby meet at Hampden for the first domestic trophy of the season on Sunday (26 February), with the Ibrox manager and the ex-Hoops pundit engaged in a spirited back-and-forth in the buildup.
Sutton now claims the pressure is all on Beale to deliver as the Gers fanbase will start to doubt him if he fails to lift the trophy, in a way that opposite number Ange Postecoglou doesn’t have to worry about.
Speaking on the Record Celtic Podcast for the Daily Record on Wednesday (22 February) he said: “Who has come in and had plenty to say but hasn’t backed it up with the trophy?”
On what will happen if Rangers are beaten he said: “I think there would be a little bit of doubt because Celtic are the acid test, aren’t they? That’s just the way it is. We all know the Glasgow environment.
“You can’t tell me that (when) there are three trophies up for grabs this season; you can’t tell me that if Rangers lose that game then the pressure won’t intensify.
“But the most important thing is that Celtic fans have total faith in Ange Postecoglou. Rangers fans over a very short period would have faith in terms of what Michael Beale has achieved so far, but if they don’t get over the line in this cup competition and win the Viaplay Cup there will be Rangers fans (doubting him).
“Look you judge Michael Beale over a season or two seasons, but until he wins a trophy there will always be those doubts. He had a short spell at QPR and started brilliantly and in the end the wheels came off a little bit.
“And at Rangers there will be those doubts because he is a rookie manager in terms of managing a club the size of Rangers. That doesn’t mean he can’t achieve great things because he is clearly a talented coach but you have to prove yourself.
“In many respects it’s a must-win for Michael Beale.”
Harsh but true
The problem for Beale in this case is that Sutton is probably right, such is the pressure when in charge at Rangers to deliver.
Since arriving from QPR there is very little more he could have achieved from the opportunities he’s had, and it is a measure of the progress already made from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s faltering side that the draw against Celtic was such a frustration.
The late Kyogo Furuhashi equaliser at Ibrox on 2 January, in a game where the Light Blues were arguably more comfortable against their Old Firm rivals than at any stage since the manager left the club previously, is all that has come between Beale and a 100% record.
That is laudable of course, but if he wins every game he takes charge of in Scotland apart from meetings with the Bhoys it won’t be good enough.
He can consider himself unfortunate not to have won his first derby, and would more than make up for it with a victory in his second, but if he comes up short it will be a big missed opportunity.
The majority of the fanbase are obviously not going to be calling for his head after one lost final, but the stakes are high for this one, and while it won’t undo the good work he has done so far it will undermine it.
That would probably be harsh on his short time in charge, but those are the terms of the Rangers job and he knows that as well as anyone so he will be desperate to get a win in this one.
In other Rangers news, one Celtic hero has admitted that Beale was right about his Chelsea dig at Sutton.