Glasgow belongs to Celtic right now. But Rangers boss Michael Beale is adamant there are two top teams in the city.
His side lost another Old Firm derby yesterday, with the Hoops’ 3-2 victory all but securing them the Premiership title. Beale’s only hope of silverware is the Scottish Cup and there’s a semi-final date with Ange Postecoglou’s men on April 30 at Hampden. Despite coming off second best at Parkhead, he’s convinced there isn’t a gulf between the teams.
Beale was left to rue the loss of Connor Goldson before kick-off due to injury and his two centre-backs, John Souttar and Ben Davies, both gifted Celtic goals in the second half. But the Ibrox boss refused to be too downbeat. He knows he’s got work to do in re-shaping his squad this summer and recruitment in key areas will be vital. But as he analysed this latest Old Firm loss, he urged his players to take encouragement from their performance.
Beale said: “Listen, we’ve got work to do. We have made improvements – I think everyone can see an improved Rangers team now in terms of our energy and commitment. But we certainly need to recruit in the summer. We need to come out of that window a lot stronger.
“I’m a defender of these players because I manage the team. And I don’t think the gap’s massive between us and Celtic.
“The reality is that we’re behind in the league and you’d be deemed a fool saying words like that. But that’s genuinely what I believe.
“We didn’t deserve to lose today but we’ve got to get over this. And if we cut out one or two mistakes then the semi-final will be really interesting.
“I think you saw two good football teams today. There are two good football teams in this country, not one.
“My players have got to keep showing that on the pitch and grab a bit of respect back. There’s been a bit of disrespect for a Rangers team that has only lost six league games in 107.
“So this is a good team. That result was in our hands today but we made two massive errors. I didn’t see Celtic making those errors, so that’s frustrating.
“But if we eradicate that we’ll be on the right road. The two mistakes cost us but they weren’t the only ones.
“We had chances up at the other end where we could have been a bit more decisive. I thought my team played well today and deserved a bit more.”
Beale refused to be too critical of Souttar, who has only just returned from injury and stepped in after Goldson’s hip problem. His slack back pass allowed Jota to score Celtic’s third goal to make it 3-1 and pretty much take the game away from Rangers.
But Beale said: “I thought John was outstanding. He hasn’t played all season because of injury. He’s had to bide his time. We lost Connor with 20 minutes to go in training on Friday and John was then playing. But I thought he played really well. I don’t want the focus to be on the misplaced pass.
“To come in and play 90 minutes here, John did well. That’s probably the start of his Rangers career.”
Both Rangers’ goals were scored by skipper James Tavernier who has now taken his tally up to 100 for the club. Beale paid tribute to the full-back who equalised yesterday with a Stunning free-kick before making it 3-2 late on with a header.
The manager said: “The free-kick was fantastic and that’s something he practises. Then he got in at the back post after a really good ball from Borna Barisic. Our two full-backs give us so much going forward but they also defended very well today.
“To score 100 goals as a full-back is an incredible achievement.
“He won’t be thinking about it right now but when the dust settles he should get all the accolades for that.
“It’s not just his goals, it’s his assists as well. It’s a tough thing wearing the armband for one of these two clubs in Glasgow – certainly when everything is not going in your favour.”
Rangers’ task was made even tougher at Parkhead with no away fans in the stadium. Beale believes the fixture is worse off for it but insists it was Celtic’s call to have zero away supporters at the final two league derbies.
The Ibrox gaffer said: “That was my 16th derby and I’ve never seen it how it used to be. The atmosphere at Hampden when it’s 50/50 is fantastic. That sells the Scottish game so well.
“But I’m not the decision maker. I’m led to believe it was Celtic’s call to have no away fans between now and the end of the season. I can’t say I’m happy with it. Even if you’ve got a few fans in, it’s better.
“Having that bit of back and forth between supporters is better for the game. It’s a game that’s played six times a season and we need to cherish it and we have to protect that.”
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