Pete Hanson

Mon 23 October 2023 8:10, UK

There was once a suggestion that Michael Beale was the tactical mastermind behind Steven Gerrard’s success as Rangers manager.

Well, there’s still no reason to think that’s not true but what is clear is that he was not the man to be the face that ran the place at Ibrox.

The Rangers hierarchy gave Beale huge backing by bringing in nine players during the summer but a series of poor results spelt the end of his reign at the start of October.

In his place came Philippe Clement, and the Belgian saw his reign begin in style as his side hammered Hibernian 4-0 at Ibrox on Saturday.

The final goalscorer in that victory was of course Cyriel Dessers, a player much-maligned under Beale having joined in that aforementioned huge summer recruitment drive.

Speaking to RangersTV, in quotes reported by the Herald (22 October), Dessers made some comments that certainly hinted at a bleak dressing room atmosphere towards the end of Beale’s tenure.

“The manager wants us to play with energy and show it as well to the fans; high pressing, play aggressively and forward.

“We showed some bits of this, but there’s still a lot of growth left for us. I’m sure we’ll do that, and we’ll then be a team that is difficult to stop.

“It’s a part of the game that I like to do. I’m still growing to my best level, but this was a step towards it. I hope with the new energy inside the dressing room, with the new staff and the fans, that we can push on.”

While Dessers does not directly dig out Beale, the suggestion of a “new energy” hints that things were not great behind closed doors under the previous regime.

Let’s hope that under Clement, Dessers and the rest of his Rangers teammates can really kick on and forget about what was a sorry start to the season.

In other Rangers news, Clement is set to meet a top candidate to become director of football at Ibrox.