Odds stacked against next manager at Ibrox as Rangers stare into the abyss – Gary Keown
Journalist Gary Keown has claimed Rangers are now staring into the abyss and completely unable to challenge even a weak Celtic side, with the new manager, whoever he is, having a tough job on his hands.
Keown suggests the odds are already stacked against the new boss after the club gave their relentless backing to Michael Beale in the transfer market as he built a “bomb scare” of a squad.
He also claimed that sticking with current interim boss Steven Davis for any longer than necessary would be a bad idea given the shock midweek loss to Aris in the Europa League.
Writing in his column for the Scottish Mail on Sunday [8 October, pg 95], Keown shared: “Giving everything going on, it stands to reason that Celtic are there to be shot at. And yet, there’s nothing. No credible competition.
“Rangers are really looking into the abyss this time, having inexplicably given all their money to Scottish football’s undisputed No1 used-car salesman, Michael Beale, along with a carte blanche to assemble an absolute bomb scare of a squad.
“No matter who they appoint as manager next, the odds are stacked against him getting a tune out of that lot.
“They need to appoint someone soon, though, because the midweek Europa League collapse at Aris Limassol proved interim coach Steven Davis is not the answer.”
A difficult turnaround
The issue with spending the summer completely backing your manager in every decision he makes on and off the pitch, including heavy funding and backing in the transfer market, is that when you sack him after a few weeks, you’re still left with his mess.
Beale’s recruitment has proved to be wasteful so far, with the likes of Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers consistently underperforming, and it will be left up to the new boss to try and get a tune out of players who were brought in for Beale.
If the previous manager couldn’t get results out of the players he actively wanted and pursued, what chance has a new boss got? The pressure will be heavy, and the job will be difficult, with expectations still high.
As Keown says, Rangers are staring into the abyss, and whoever comes in as the replacement for Beale will be tasked with cleaning up the mess he has left behind.
In other Rangers news, Keown slammed Davis for his recent comments.