John Lundstram speaks out on what Rangers players think about Michael Beale as Ibrox sack decision made
Rangers midfielder John Lundstram insists the players are “fully behind” manager Michael Beale as they strive to improve results at Ibrox.
The senior Rangers star, speaking to Sky Sports News (15 September) believes the Ibrox side have to “stick together” to move on from defeat to Celtic and perform amidst the Ibrox pressure after the club board issued their backing on Beale’s position [Daily Record, 6 September] at Ibrox despite some disappointing results.
Speaking to Glasgow Live ahead of this weekend’s clash with St Johnstone, Beale revealed he’s spoken to the Rangers board regarding recent results and shared he is aware that every manager needs to win games to stay in the job, with seven games in 22 days set to provide him the opportunity to get back to winning ways.
And Lundstram, speaking ahead of Saturday’s afternoon kick-off against St Johnstone [16 September], he said: “Of course you understand the frustrations of [fans at] an Old Firm defeat, we’ve got frustrations as well.
“We’ve got to stick together and try and put a run of games together to try and recoup the points we’ve lost.
“There’s a long way to go, so I wouldn’t panic too much, going forward we’ve got put the performances in.
“We are fully behind the manager, we’re right there doing what we can to try and get the points back on the board.
“That defeat to our rivals hurt us, but the performance is on us as well, it’s not just the manager, we’re all together in it.”
Huge weeks ahead
It’s safe to say that Rangers have been rather disappointing, especially given the fact that many expected them to make a strong statement to start out the campaign after a busy and eventful summer of business.
Nine players walked through the doors at Ibrox indicating that Beale knew what he needed and how he was going to line up to challenge Celtic throughout the campaign, but his team have looked far from title contenders with their Old Firm rivals stealing a march in the table once again.
After a few weeks of the new campaign, it seems as if the former QPR manager does not know his best XI as yet and that is rather worrying but there are some who would argue that these things take time as it’s not easy to bed in nine new players in the first month of the season.
Both Beale and Lundstram are obviously aware of the pressure that surrounds them at the moment but are also aware of where they need to improve and should have a good idea of where that improvement can be found.
It’s all well and good acknowledging the need to win games, but actually getting out on the pitch and earning the three points is an entirely different story. It’s up to Rangers whether they can rise up through all the pressure and deliver on their ambitions.
In other Rangers news, a journalist has shared the board’s stance on Beale’s future.