Rangers board contacted Michael Beale replacements after Celtic defeat, Philippe Clement and Frank Lampard among ‘main names’
Rangers started making contact with replacements for Michael Beale during the last international break, according to The 4th Official.
The online outlet reported via Twitter on 3 October that the club set in motion the process weeks ago, with Philippe Clement, Frank Lampard, Pascal Jansen and Kevin Muscat now the “main names” in the running.
Beale came under huge pressure after losing another Old Firm derby on 3 September as Celtic won 1-0 at Ibrox, and it appears the board did in fact react to that result as many had called for but didn’t pull the trigger until the new month, with the 43-year-old sacked on 1 October after losing to Aberdeen.
T4O wrote: “The main names under consideration for being the next manager at Rangers are Frank Lampard, Pascal Jansen, Philippe Clement and Kevin Muscat.
“I have also been told that the Rangers board sent out feelers before Michael Beale was finally relieved of his duties as the manager at Rangers with the initial contact made in the last international break.”
Sitting duck
A decent proportion of the Gers fanbase wanted Beale removed after he lost another crucial game against Celtic, and since he has now gone just under a month later the board ultimately may as well have done so.
It was widely assumed that he was on his absolute last change, and that only a sustained run of wins, including a win the Viaplay Cup final would have kept him in place.
It appears that may have been accurate, although it has arguably just meant that the fans have been increasingly infuriated for a few extra weeks and another SPFL loss has been added to the record.
The Light Blues did get a good Europa League win over Real Betis and a solid 4-0 victory to reach the League Cup semi final in his last run of fixtures, but with the team struggling ever since the opening day loss at Kilmarnock perhaps the hierarchy should have started putting feelers out at that point.
Clearly there would have been strong hope that Beale could turn things around having just been given nine new signings, but the ship was never righted.
Of the quartet mentioned Clement’s and Muscat’s records stand out with multiple league titles to their names, but with the former having won three in Belgium between Genk and Club Brugge where the latter only lasted six months with Sint-Truidense V.V. he perhaps holds the edge.
In other Rangers news, the “most intriguing” candidate to replace Beale has reportedly “always had an affinity” for the club.