Glen Kamara is going to be central to Michael Beale's Rangers plans according to Brian Laudrup, if what he's read into the new manager's early interviews are anything to go by.
The 53-year-old has been impressed by what he's heard from Giovanni van Bronckhorst's successor this week after taking on his first round of interviews following his appointment as Ibrox boss. There's a big job on his hands to claw back a nine-point gap Celtic have in the title race but Laudrup can see already that players like Kamara will feel the love from their former assistant.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, he predicts the Finnish midfielder rising to a key cog in Beale's new Rangers system, taking a leaf out of legendary boss Walter Smith's playbook. He explained: "Already, you can see Beale trying to work on the mental side of things and get smiles back on faces after a difficult few months at the end of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's tenure. When I look back at my time working with Walter Smith, he was a fantastic human being with an exceptional ability to get into the minds of players.
"People talk about treating everyone equally. Walter knew that was rubbish. He knew you had to be careful with some players while others responded to pressure. If you have 24 players, you have to treat them in various ways to get the best out of all of them. You can't compare anyone to my old gaffer but I really like the messages Beale has been sending in his initial interviews. I've no doubt a lot of these will be emphasised in much more detail behind the scenes.
"Look, in particular, at what Beale said about Glen Kamara. 'He will be a big player going forward.' It's a simple statement. But, to me, one clearly designed to make Kamara feel he is important again. Because that had been lost in recent times. The midfielder comes across as a quiet, mild-mannered person. Not one with a huge ego. Everyone needs reassurance, though, and Kamara plainly wasn't a key man towards the end of Van Bronckhorst's reign.
"Now, however, Beale is trying to build him up. He is showing he has faith but will expect that to be rewarded with performances on the park. And quickly. Perhaps better than anyone, Beale knows what Kamara (right) can offer. He is only 27 and has a contract until 2025. A player of his talent can't just drift away from being an effective part of Rangers. Instead, he should be someone capable of delivering a big fee in the future. It looks like he's going to be one of those trusted to put Beale's vision into practice.
