NEVER mind the pressure that Michael Beale will be under from the Rangers supporters in the stands at Hampden today to get a result in the Viaplay Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
The Ibrox club’s manager will have some serious explaining to do when he gets back home this evening should his side slip up and fail to progress to the final.
“My family have now moved back up to Scotland,” he said at Auchenhowie earlier this week as he stepped up preparations for the encounter with the Pittodrie club.
“So I don’t have to worry about the family. When I’m not here, I’m back at home with them. I have three young children and they’re back at school here. I find my children are really good at helping me to chill out.
“Well, my little daughter certainly. As the boys get older, less so. The boys are always wanting to talk to me about football and tell me what’s been said at school about the subs I’ve made and what players should have done and who am I signing.”
Beale has to take the flak for below par performances and bad results – from his nearest and dearest as well as the general public and the media by the sound of things – now he is no longer just the first team coach at Rangers.
But by no means does he have to bear the burden alone.
He brought in Damien Matthew and Neil Banfield as his assistants and Harry Watling as his development and set piece coach when he joined from Queens Park Rangers back in November.
He described the new coaching team as a “band of brothers” as he outlined for the first time what specific roles they all have within his set-up and stressed how integral they are to what he is trying to accomplish in Govan.
“The way I set the staff up is that they all look after certain players,” he said. “When they come to work they can have a meeting with certain players. On Friday, Damien had a meeting with Malik Tillman and he had a meeting with Ryan Jack a couple of days before that.
“The meetings were just about them, where they’re going, their understanding. We’re all about clarity because we think clarity gives you a peace of mind. If you have peace of mind when you on to a football pitch, you’re more likely to perform.
“I can’t do that for 25 players and four goalkeepers. I have to leave the staff to get around. I’m still the lead coach at the football club when it comes to planning and I’m still the miserable so-and-so. I think there’s a lot friendlier faces in the building than me.
“But that’s where my skill set is. It would be amiss of me if I wasn’t out there as the lead coach. The club have obviously brought me back to do that for the team and try to create a style they want. But the staff I’ve brought up to Glasgow to be with me, we’re going through it together like a band of brothers.”
Beale added: “It’s strange that in football, you can be as close to people as I was to Steven (Gerrard), Gary (McAllister), Tom (Culshaw) and Jordan (Milson) for three-and-a-half years and then you don’t speak to them that much because you’re having a relationship with a new staff.
“I really trust the staff, they have a wealth of experience. Neil has experienced working alongside Arsene Wenger and the players at Arsenal he saw come through. It’s important that I allow him to do what he does. He’s an older gentlemen so he comes here from a different angle, with a bit more life experience and few more grey hairs.
“Damien is a very calm and collected individual, you can’t ruffle his feathers. Harry’s like a younger version of me. He has the same energy I’ve got, the same Cockney accent that can sound a bit a little bit forthright at times.
“He works with the younger players coming from the academy to the first team and he goes and watches all the B team games, making sure that’s a smooth process. I think we have all the bases covered. In terms of the senior players, I think they’re enjoying the training but finding it challenging because it’s very intense.”
Beale and his colleagues will doubtless have spent considerable time speaking to Kemar Roofe in recent weeks as the forward has worked his way back to fitness from another long-term injury lay-off.
However, the Jamaican internationalist, who came on as a late substitute in the cinch Premiership win over Dundee United at Tannadice last weekend, will doubtless be buoyed to hear that he is very much in his manager’s plans.
“The way I have set the team up I have left a big hole for Kemar to come back,” he said. “If Kemar can get fit and healthy he will come into a team and he will slot right in. Kemar is extremely frustrated. But he is a really outgoing kid, a bubbly character and a leader.
“Three or four weeks ago, he was the best player in training by a distance. But the day before the game he had a calf problem. It was devastating for me and the team. I spoke to the media about what we are doing then you look like a fool as the rug gets pulled from underneath you.”
Beale added: “I am optimistic about Kemar, but the proof will be in the pudding. He has aims here and he is incredibly frustrated he couldn’t impact us more. He feels if he is fit he can make a huge impact on how successful we are.
“I think Kemar is a battle-scarred senior player now and he will never feel perfect when he plays. It is to do with his calf area and he has had it since he was young. At different times he has missed a lot of football. He has gone to great lengths to speak to different people to get to the bottom of his issues. So far, so good.”
