MICHAEL BEALE is under no illusions about the scale of the Old Firm derby as he prepares to manage Rangers for the first time against their fierce rivals.
The Englishman was named as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s successor at Ibrox at the end of November but was previously a key member of Steven Gerrard’s backroom staff, and he has witnessed first-hand just how tempestuous meetings between Glasgow’ big two can be.
That passion, Beale insists, separates the Old Firm derby from much of the rest. The 42-year-old is well-placed to make such an assessment, having previously coached in Brazil. The South American nation has its own problems with its biggest derbies but Beale prefers to look on the positive side as he explained why Glasgow’s derby is on a par with the biggest Brazil has to offer.
“It’s the passion here, the way the game is played,” he said. “It’s history. It’s everything that's lovely about football. It has another side to it but let’s focus on the positive part of it.
“When I went to Brazil, they weren’t arguing about 700 away tickets because the away fans weren’t allowed to go to derby games due to crowd violence. If you’re Sao Paulo and you play Corinthians, there are no away fans. It’s the same if you play Palmeiras or Santos.
“There was one famous game just before I joined where Santos and Sao Paulo’s buses met and players from each team sat next to each other on the drive to the game. That’s never going to happen here in Glasgow! But it just shows you around the world, there are circumstances around every big derby game.
“I think we have a beautiful game here and it’s important we embrace it. The team that loses isn’t the worst team in the world. The Celtic teams we beat before had good players. People have to sharpen their pencils the next day and write that it’s life and death but it isn’t.
“It’s a big game and I’m really looking forward to it. But there won’t be any sleepless nights because I’ve been involved in 13 already. This one is a little bit different because I’ll have to speak to the media afterwards - win, lose or draw.”
Rangers and Celtic’s decision to cut away allocations for derbies in recent years has been a fairly contentious one. Critics argue that the smaller away sections detract from the overall spectacle, while proponents contest that the alternative would leave season ticket holders without a seat for two of the biggest games of the season. Beale admits he can see both sides.
“It’s difficult because ultimately the stadiums are not big enough,” he said. “Although they are the two biggest stadiums in the league they are not big enough for the demand of the fans.
“How do you sell season tickets? I wouldn’t buy a season ticket without a tickets for the biggest game. It’s the same for both clubs. Until the stadiums gets bigger it’s very difficult.
“The two clubs have huge demand, they are world-famous clubs. How do you cut that demand up? In terms of saying to a season ticket holder ‘you are not going to that game’. That’s arguably why they are paying for the season book.
“I understand both sides of the argument. I have never lived with it the other way. So I never saw [larger away allocations]. It might take a way a little bit away from the atmosphere but most derbies around the world are like this.
“We zone in on our one. Our demand is huge, our waiting list for season tickets is huge. And I’m sure Celtic’s is equal to that too.”
