Ian McCall was sent soaring in Michael Beale’s estimation when a message of good luck from the Partick Thistle boss dropped through his London letter box.
But the Rangers boss knows his friend will be out to deliver something altogether more unpleasant when the Jags visit Ibrox tomorrow night in the Scottish Cup. Beale has formed a close bond with his Firhill counterpart since first following Steven Gerrard to Glasgow and has grown to see the Thistle gaffer as a capable mentor for the young Light Blues loanees they have placed in his trusted hands. For McCall’s part, he certainly seems to have nothing but respect and admiration for the man he’ll be squaring up to across the dugout for the last-16 showdown.
As gestures go, the warm note he dispatched to Loftus Road following Beale’s summer appointment at QPR was seen as a nice touch by the man now sitting in the Ibrox hotseat. McCall may be first class in Beale’s eyes but the Ibrox manager is wary a second-rate display against the Maryhill men runs the risk of Rangers – like fourth-round upset victims Aberdeen – being posted missing when the quarter-finals draw is made.
He said: “I know Colly really well. He is a guy I have known since I first came up to Glasgow. He has become a bit of a friend in that time as well. He sent me a lovely letter when I got my job at QPR, which was a nice gesture. He showed a touch of class.
“He’s someone we’ve loaned players to, someone I know outside of football, and I wish him well. I look at his squad and they have a lot of SPL experience in the team, so it will be an interesting game. They’re bringing 2500 fans as well, which shows the support they have. We need to keep pushing our standards and not drop from it in terms of our attitude and energy.
“I’m still looking for a greater level of performance, albeit at times I think we have played very well. I still want to push for more. We’ve already seen a big upset in this cup in the previous round and I look at the competition at the moment, when there is a couple of upsets, it opens up the hopes and dreams for everybody. It is an interesting tie. We just need to make sure we are at our best and we get through.”
Saturday’s 2-1 win over Ross County maintained Beale’s unbeaten stretch since replacing Gio van Bronckhorst but it’s hardly been a dizzying dozen games in charge with only last week’s Tynecastle win providing a truly dominant display. Beale now hopes the visit of McCall’s Championship promotion hopefuls could offer an escape from the Premiership humdrum.
He said: “It’s quite nice actually. You play teams in the division definitely three times a season and some four. If you draw them in the cup as well it becomes a bit of a Groundhog Day as you know so much about each other and that can make for a stale or stuffy game at times.
“It’s nice to play a team not in our league but knowing they’ve nothing to lose coming to Ibrox. I’m sure that’s what Colly will be telling his team. But we have got everything to gain as well. It’s making sure we give justice to the importance this cup has for Rangers. It’s massively important.
“It’s a cup we won after a number of years last summer and it’s one of the trophies we feel we can win again this year. You never know how many years you have left in the game, regardless of where you are in your career.
“We’re a club that thinks we can win, thinks we can get to cup finals. “We’ve one to look forward to and want to add to that with another one. When you get there, you want to be picking up the trophy as well. When you’re at this club, it’s relentless. Since I’ve come back, we have played 12 games and won 11 and we just need to keep winning.”
While relations with the man in charge of Glasgow’s third force are positive, Beale drew stick for that “lucky man” jibe he tossed in Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou’s direction. But the Ibrox gaffer insists he’s the fortunate one now.
He added: “I live in a really nice part of the country. I’m a bit of a hide and seek champion as you wouldn’t be able to find me outside of my job! I like that because it enables me to go to the countryside and spend time with my family. It’s great having young children, they tend to take your mind away from things a little bit. But the rest of it – I love being here. I’m a football obsessive. I like being in the club. It’s what drives me.
“I don’t see what I do as work. If you can do that in life then you’re very lucky. I’m living what I wanted to live as a young boy, I’m a fortunate person.”
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