George Overhill

Sat 30 September 2023 19:20, UK

Tam McManus doesn’t see how Michael Beale “can survive the weekend” as Rangers manager after losing at home to Aberdeen.

The BBC Sport pundit reacted on Twitter after the match on Saturday (30 September) to claim the “myth” that the Gers boss had been the “brains behind” Steven Gerrard had been disproven, while mockingly suggesting that Giovanni van Bronckhorst might appear at next Sunday’s game away to St Mirren in order to repay the favour if Beale makes it that far.

Beale infamously returned to Glasgow and attended the 4-1 win over the Dons on 29 October last year as a “five star guest of the club” at a time when Dutchman Van Bronckhorst was under major pressure, before replacing him soon after.

McManus wrote: “Think its safe to say that the ‘Michael Beale was the brains behind Gerrard’ etc that was peddled was a myth. Spent a fortune also on players.

“Don’t see how he can survive the weekend but if he does I wonder if Gio van Bronckhorst will turn up in Paisley next Sunday?”

Awaiting his fate?

The manner of Beale’s arrival rubbed some up the wrong way among the Rangers fanbase, as well as virtually all of the QPR support, because of his visit when his predecessor was struggling.

It overshadowed arguably the best result of Van Bronckhorst’s last few fixtures before the World Cup and suggested the club were already making moves out in the open while he was still in the job.

Beale is arguably under more pressure from the outside now than the Dutchman was then and yet he has so far been spared a similar indignity, as John Eustace has ruled himself out of the running rather than make a triumphant trip to Glasgow.

John Bennett didn’t make a move to replace Beale after the most recent Old Firm derby ended in another Celtic win on 3 September, and while he was putting together a winning run subsequently it seemed unlikely that any change would be made.

But that sequence came to a shuddering halt at Ibrox as Barry Robson’s side ran out relatively comfortable winners, and it would be a major turn-up if Beale does make it to the next game.

It is early in the season, there are a huge number of injuries, and the summer overhaul probably needs time to get up to full speed, but Beale has equally been given the benefit of the doubt on a number of occasions since he took charge already.

Van Bronckhorst, for what it is worth, won the Scottish Cup and took Rangers to the Europa League final but was still removed for failing to keep pace with Celtic in the SPFL, so Beale must be skating on extremely thin ice if he lasts as far as the midweek trip to Aris Limassol in the Europa League.

In other Rangers news, Graham Spiers says Beale “is going to be sacked” after falling seven points behind Celtic.