Kris Commons reckons Michale Beale needs to clear out the Rangers stars who have been "mentally scarred" by another defeat to Celtic.
The Londoner's winless run against Ange Postecoglou's men was extended to four games in the bruising Scottish Cup semi-final defeat, with the 1-0 defeat at Hampden all-but ending Rangers' hopes of lifting silverware this season. In contrast, Celtic need just one win to guarantee they will lift the Scottish Premiership trophy, and if their see off Inverness Caley Thistle in the final they will have secured world-record eighth domestic Treble.
Commons has put the blame on Beale - insisting Alfredo Morelos should have stayed on the pitch rather than being replaced by Ianis Hagi with the Gers in desperate need for an equaliser to keep their season alive. The gloating former Parkhead star reckons the Hoops didn't get out of "third gear" at the national stadium - as Commons set out what is required for the major rebuild at Ibrox.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Commons said: "You are 1-0 down in a Scottish Cup semi-final with maybe 10 minutes to go. Despite seeing plenty of the ball, nothing has yet fallen for you in the penalty box but your supporters have stayed with you in the belief that the one gilt-edged chance you crave may yet come along.
"All you can do is hope that it falls to the right player. Look, by no means was Alfredo Morelos having his best game yesterday. But if Rangers were going to get a goal, he was the most likely man to get it. For that reason, I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief when the board went up to signal that the Colombian was being replaced by Ianis Hagi.
"Listen, Hagi's a talented player who's had his injury issues of late but he's not scored at all this season and hasn't hit the back of the net since January of last year. He's a creator not a finisher. His introduction at that stage of the game was utterly perplexing. And, for me, it signalled the moment that Celtic secured their passage to the Scottish Cup final.
"It's just one of many questions that Rangers fans will be asking of Michael Beale after his winless streak against Celtic extended to four matches. Fundamentally, though, it will be the manager's inability to get one over on Ange Postecoglou that will be foremost in their thoughts this week. Let's get this straight Celtic were some way off the pace here. You might say that Postecoglou's men were in third gear yet still won. Again.
"This summer, Beale needs to sign not only good footballers but ones that bring a different mentality to his side. Too many of this group are too mentally scarred by too many defeats like this. They've become too accustomed to days like yesterday when they huff and puff but again come up short.
"Despite there only being one goal in it going into the final stages, you never felt like Rangers had the belief that this would be their day. They've been in this movie far too often."
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