Ally McCoist shares Michael Beale Rangers transfer verdict after Brendan Rodgers to Celtic confirmed
Ally McCoist believes Rangers boss Michael Beale needs to bring “four or five” players in after Brendan Rodgers was appointed as the new Celtic boss.
As confirmed by the official Celtic website (19 June), Rodgers has returned to Celtic Park on a three-year deal after being sacked by Leicester City in April.
And Gers legend McCoist believes his return is “bad news” for Beale, who now needs to delve further into the transfer market to improve his squad.
“Within Scottish football it’s a kind of no-brainer decision because he’s a top-class coach and manager,” McCoist said on talkSPORT, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“He knows the club really well and was extremely successful before so that alone makes it an obvious choice and a pretty good choice in my book. However, as has been well documented, there’s a certain section of the Celtic support who made it clear they were not happy with Brendan when he left.”
And discussing what the appointment means for Rangers, McCoist added: “I’d have thought it was bad news, yeah, for the reasons I’ve given. But Rangers and Michael Beale can’t afford to start thinking about what’s going on across the city. They have to concentrate on themselves and that’s bringing four or five players in.”
Big season ahead
It’s a huge season ahead for both Rodgers and Beale, but for very different reasons as the duo prepare to face off for the biggest prizes in Scottish football.
Despite his previous success, the returning Celtic boss still has plenty to prove, primarily to the fans who turned on him the moment he left for Leicester.
Beale, however, will perhaps be under more pressure, as Gers supporters will not want Rodgers to come out on top against another of their managers.
The Ibrox boss has been busy this summer in getting his squad ready for a big campaign, with Beale already securing the services of Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell and Sam Lammers.
But fans will want more new faces in as the club looks to close the gap on their fierce rivals, with Celtic dominating the rivalry between the two Scottish giants last season.
Rodgers knows Scottish football very well and boasts a long honours list from his previous spell at the Bhoys, meaning Beale really has been handed a very difficult task in getting Rangers back to the top of the pile.
In other Rangers news, Guillem Balague has shared a Gers finance view as he blasts back at Jamie Carragher on Twitter.