Michael Beale slammed over claims of Rangers dominance as club feel heat amid Celtic chase
Michael Beale “needs an editor or PR advisor” over his claims of Rangers dominance during his previous spell at the club, according to journalist Ewan Murray.
Having lost the Viaplay Cup final to Celtic on 26 February the Light Blues have come under renewed pressure from fans unhappy that the club has fallen away from the Old Firm rivals, with banners in the Ibrox stands during the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday (4 March).
The Gers boss attempted to calm some of the criticism of a failure to compete in the SPFL on Monday, saying, as per the Scottish Sun: “I wasn’t here in that period, but we were very dominant in the last 18 months before I left. Some things haven’t worked out, but at the same time Celtic have gone on a really good run. And that’s it.”
Reacting on Twitter on Monday (6 March) Guardian journalist Murray wrote: “We were very dominant in the last 18 months before I left.” Knocked out of SC by St Johnstone. Knocked out of LC by St Mirren. Beale needs an editor or a PR advisor.”
On the same thread he added: “Still the second biggest wage bill in the country… and some. I’m boring myself with this point but Beale is among those at Rangers who speak routinely about a level of success that hasn’t transpired at all.”
And further: “He clearly regards his last spell at Rangers as a great success. Nowhere near as clear cut as that.”
Under pressure
Winning the league title is the key element of dominance in Scotland but it can’t be escaped that the record in cups, even allowing for last season’s Scottish Cup win, has been very poor for a long time.
It is the nature of cup competitions that a poor performance on any given day will see you knocked out, whereas league form is obviously taken as a whole.
It also shouldn’t be overlooked that the battle back from the bottom of the pyramid after 2012 would have brought major psychological hurdles to get over, which is why it is so disappointing that the 55th title was not built on.
But at the same time, Celtic have won 10 of the past 13 domestic cups, as well as regaining the league title last year and looking odds on to defend it this season.
So there is an element of truth to Beale’s claims that in a two-team battle within Glasgow it only takes one side to slip slightly and the other to do particularly well to make all the difference.
And he also is only four months into a rescue job after the drop off under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, but the cup final loss is clearly a black mark on his record.
So he might want to dial down the bombast and focus on making improvements on the pitch for now instead of leaping to the defence of an increasingly unpopular board, at least until he has got his first Old Firm win.
In other Rangers news, media coverage of the Gers has been scrapped thanks to a refusal to cooperate at Celtic.