Michael Beale faces Gio van Bronckhorst parallel at St Johnstone amid Rangers sack fears
The feeling of deja vu can be quite an uncomfortable one, and it is one Rangers fans will hope not to be feeling after their Scottish Premiership clash with St Johnstone on Saturday (16 September).
Gers boss Michael Beale has felt the pressure cooker at Ibrox crank up significantly after a woeful period that led into a much-needed international break.
A 5-1 hammering at the hands of PSV consigned Rangers a 7-3 aggregate defeat in their Champions League play-off clash, meaning they missed out on the group stages and instead entered the Europa League.
Then came an extremely limp performance in a 1-0 loss to fierce rivals Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season at Ibrox on 3 September.
It means Beale is facing a must-win scenario when his side travel to Perth to face the Saints at McDiarmid Park this weekend.
But St Johnstone is by no means a walkover fixture…just ask his predecessor Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
His status as a former player at Ibrox did not provide the Dutchman any more respite once the wheels began to fall off in quite a significant fashion.
A 2-1 defeat to St Johnstone at the same location on November 6, 2022, following a 3-1 reverse at Ajax (soccerway) that saw Rangers become the first team to lose all six group-stage games in a single Champions League campaign.
The situation is a little different. For one thing, we’re at an earlier stage of the campaign. But there is an extremely uneasy parallel for Beale and he will be under no illusion that the wolves are circling.
It took until 27 November for Rangers’ hierarchy to pull the trigger on Van Bronckhorst’s reign (Sky Sports) following that setback, staying in charge for matches against Hearts and St Mirren heading into the break for the World Cup in Qatar, but not returning when the Scottish Premiership resumed in December.
You get the feeling that if Rangers lose, or maybe even draw, the same stay of execution will not be afforded to Beale, who will be hoping the board do not have another sack decision to make in the coming days.
In other Rangers news, Rabbi Matondo’s former coach explains what makes him such a ‘nightmare’.