Michael Beale has delivered the strongest signal yet that he’s ready to perform major summer surgery on his Rangers squad - insisting it will be “completely different” for pre-season.
The Ibrox side take their title hopes into last chance saloon on Saturday with the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park. That’s quickly followed by a Scottish Cup semi final clash with their arch rivals at Hampden and Beale insists he’s blocking out the noise as he looks to puncture the Hoops’ drive towards a Treble. Before all that the manager has revealed his summer plans are already well underway with a number of new arrivals in the pipeline to replace others heading out the door.
Beale said last month that at least five new players would be brought in ahead of the new campaign following the January signings of Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin - adding that there is a “good amount” of money in the kitty. And while he homes in on signings, others are ready to leave Ibrox as their deals end with question marks over Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, Ryan Jack, Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, Steven Davis and Filip Helander who will all be free agents in June.
Beale’s message was delivered as he sized up the three derbies against Celtic in the space of little over a month which will shape the remainder of the current campaign. With the first at Parkhead, the second at Hampden and the third at Ibrox he said: “I have to tackle each game as it comes.
“The three games are going to be different. From no away fans to a 50-50 split at Hampden. That’s going to have a difference on everything, for us as a team, it’s been a long time since I came in.
“The last time we lost in the league was the first week in November. We’re now into April, it’s been a long time, 20 weeks of good form in the league, we just need to keep repeating it.
"I don’t care if we don’t get any praise from outside, I’ve got to see the progress inside. I’ll judge us on the next game but listen I know this group is going to be completely different in 10 games’ time, but I can’t deal with pre-season until this season is done.”
Beale used last month’s international break to accelerate his summer plans with sporting director Ross Wilson. And he insists the big decisions are 99.9 per cent made.
He said: “The international break did give me some time to breathe because coming in in November until now there’s been a lot going on. It gave me time to look towards the summer, to the start of pre-season and what that will look like. What the squad will look like.
“There’s been lots of conversations with the players too with eyes on recruitment in the summer. Our decisions are clear, they are 99.9 per cent made. Myself and Ross are really aligned on that, it’s just when those things need to be communicated.”
Beale is preparing to take his side into battle at Parkhead with no backing in the stands due to the Old Firm away fan lockout. It's a situation he faced on derby day in Brazil as assistant boss at Sao Paulo - and one he reckons placed increased pressure on referees.
He said: “It’s very hostile when you go. I think the referees are under a huge amount of pressure, even having just a few fans is better than none I would say.
“But in Brazil there were reasons for that. There was a lot of crowd violence at the Sao Paulo derbies before I went there, you’d always rather some fans, even if it was only a small amount.
“It adds to the flavour of the game and again, the pressure it puts on the referee if you have a large crowd in favour of one team.”
Beale reckons the experience of those fiery derbies in the Campeonato Paulista helped set him up for a crack at management.
He said: “My first game was actually in Tampa Bay against River Plate. You’re English. You’re with Sao Paulo and you’re playing River Plate. It’s a bit unique.
“Three days later we played Corinthians in Florida. There was a mass brawl and three players were sent off in the first seven minutes. There is passion everywhere, it’s not just here in Glasgow.
“In my first game at home there were 25,000 fans waiting for us. I’d come from academy football so it was an eye-opener for me. And it was similar to the scenes I’ve witnessed in Glasgow.
“For me it was a fantastic experience. Learning a different culture. I mean, you can’t make a backwards sub for example.
“If you are three-nil up and you take off the No.10 they moan like hell. It’s all about scoring and creating and it’s a lovely way of seeing the game.”
