Michael Stewart issues ‘got himself to blame’ Michael Beale sack verdict live on BBC Sportscene after Rangers loss to Aberdeen
Michael Beale has only “got himself to blame” now that he is facing the sack at Rangers because the “key issue” of recruitment hasn’t been good enough since he took control of it, according to Michael Stewart.
The pundit said live on BBC Sportscene on 30 September that the Gers manager is facing “huge pressure” after the 3-1 loss to Aberdeen at Ibrox and it is going to be “difficult” now to turn things around.
The former Hearts captain slammed Beale over his rebuild over summer, claiming he has brought in “poor players” who are worse than those that have left and put him in danger of losing his job.
Stewart said (7.45pm): “It’s going to difficult because the momentum has well and truly gone against him and his side, and to be perfectly honest he’s only really got himself to blame because Ross Wilson left the club before, he’s the one whose been in control of the recruitment.
“And it’s the recruitment and the poor players that have come in that have left him in this situation. They created enough opportunities there but they didn’t score. They let guys like [Antonio] Colak go out the door in the summer who in my opinion is better than what they’ve got.
“That’s poor decision-making from the manager that’s affecting the team on the park. You score early in that game there and it takes care of itself, but the performance last week against Motherwell wasn’t good enough either.
“They score four against Livingston, the first one was very fortuitous which allowed them to get a bit of rhythm going, but he’s going to be under huge pressure and the recruitment, for me, is the key issue in all this.”
Damning
As with the likes of Chris Sutton it isn’t often that Rangers supporters would be agreeing en masse with Stewart, but having been presented with an overhaul at the club that was supposed to herald a new era only to see it arguably take a step backwards there will be plenty who feel the same way.
The likes of Colak, Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Fashion Sakala all had their detractors but none of the new arrivals are definitive improvements so far.
Similarly, the defence seems to be treading water this season as the same individual errors that plagued it last term have cropped up at key moments again.
There have been occasional flashes, and with so many players out injured it was always going to be a tougher task for Beale to keep putting together the results he needs.
But having put himself on the hot seat with an underperforming side even before the current injury crisis he won’t be afforded much sympathy from fans or pundits.
Whether he will get more from John Bennett and the board remains to be seen, but so far the summer rebuild has not done what it was trailed to do, and has left the manager clinging to his job.
In other Rangers news, Beale was mocked by a BBC pundit over Giovanni van Bronckhorst making an appearance before he is sacked.