Michael Beale sack decision mooted at Rangers as ‘lazy’ verdict shared
Michael Beale’s time as Rangers manager is “as good as over” if he fails to overcome Servette and get something against Celtic in the coming weeks, according to journalist Gary Keown.
Writing for the Scottish Mail on Sunday (pages 92 and 93, 13 August), the journalist noted that the boss was a “lazy appointment” by the Scottish club.
Keown added that Rangers CEO James Bisgrove can make an easy sack decision on the manager as Beale was not his appointment.
“Beale was a lazy appointment whose behaviour rang so many alarm bells,” Keown wrote for the Scottish Mail on Sunday. “However, Bisgrove can easily argue that he wasn’t his appointment. And that’s why there’s no point messing around should it go belly-up over the next few weeks.
“Getting past Servette is non-negotiable. Not losing to Celtic in three weeks’ time is hugely important too. Fail on either count and he’s even deeper in the trenches with no obvious way out. Fail on both and it’s as good as over.”
Pressure rising
Beale has been under pressure ever since being appointed Rangers manager, with little room for error in the Ibrox hot seat. It has been the same scenario for those who have come before him and indeed all those who come after him.
The manager in the dugout at fierce rivals Celtic will also always have the same issue, but right now it is all going to plan for the returning Brendan Rodgers.
For Beale, however, the pressure is rising, even following a superb 4-0 victory against Livingston on Saturday (12 August).
Such pressure comes given the long list of players that have been brought to Ibrox this summer, with the team getting their new season off to the worst possible start with a 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock.
Beale now needs to progress in the Champions League by overcoming Servette on Tuesday (15 August), while he also needs his men to step up to the plate in their first Old Firm clash of the season against Celtic on 3 September.
In other Rangers news, midfield ace Todd Cantwell has sent a message to one player after the latest Bournemouth transfer news.