Rangers: Kenny Dalglish drops ‘unfair’ verdict on Michael Beale over Celtic, asks ‘what’s he done?’
Kenny Dalglish believes it is “a wee bit unfair” to expect Michael Beale to come in and overtake Celtic but that is what Rangers’ ambitions are supposed to be.
The Gers boss only has two marks on his record since he took over as manager during the World Cup break, and both came against his Glasgow rivals, with an unfortunate draw in the SPFL at Ibrox on 2 January then a more deflating defeat in the Viaplay Cup final on 26 February.
Such is the nature of the Old Firm rivalry the Hoops icon has dismissed the fact that Beale has won every other game he’s taken charge of, because his job is ultimately to overhaul Ange Postecoglou’s men.
The 72-year-old said with a shrug, via PLZ Soccer on Twitter: “Bealey, since he’s come in, Mike Beale, what’s he done? He’s lost one game, drawn one, Celtic.
“It doesn’t matter about all the other results he’s had. Those are the ones he’s got to win. It’s a wee bit unfair to expect him coming in straight away and expect to beat them.
“But that’s what his ambition and the Rangers supporters’ ambition has got to be, that they can overtake Celtic. It’s a big task.”
True enough
It is what it is and Beale knew the score when he dropped everything to leave QPR for a return to Glasgow, so he will be under no illusions over the situation.
It’s certainly an improvement on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s league record that Beale hasn’t lost any ground on Celtic in the SPFL, and were it not for the fact that the title race was lost under the Dutchman perhaps the current boss would be under less pressure.
But the fact is that the job would probably not have been available in that case, and he had a big opportunity to strike a key blow with the League Cup final and yet he made his biggest misstep as Rangers boss for that game.
He ramped up the pressure on himself in the build up with a back and forth with Chris Sutton in the media, which in itself wasn’t an issue, but to then undercut his own claims about bringing in starters in the transfer window by leaving out Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell was a major anticlimax.
The improvement after they came on late in the game appeared to prove it was a mistake to revert to the players that had ultimately underperformed under Van Bronckhorst, although there may be caveats in the fact that both signings came on just after Alfredo Morelos had provided a boost by pulling a goal back and the starting XI had done well in the league meeting at Ibrox.
But as Light Blues boss you are judged against Celtic and that was a major test failed, so while it is easy for Dalglish to sit back and say none of the other wins matter he is ultimately right, and it is the same view that is held from the opposite side by most Gers fans.
It’s a work in progress and it will need plenty of movement in the transfer window, but his predecessor won the Scottish Cup and got to the Europa League final but paid for head-to-head failings so Beale will be well aware of the task at hand.
In other Rangers news, one Bears ace was destroyed on BBC Sportscene by a pundit who insisted it was not due to bias for the opposition.