Michael Beale will count on the twelfth man at Ibrox. First and foremost, he needs more from the eleven that he will select in a potentially decisive, defining period for Rangers.
In the aftermath of the lacklustre victory over Morton on Saturday, Beale was asked what kind of performance will be required if Rangers are to overcome PSV Eindhoven and take a positive result into the second leg of their Champions League play-off next week.
He described it as a ‘typical Rangers Ibrox European night’. He called for the fans to be ‘up’ and for his side to ‘take the game’ to the Dutch giants as Rangers set their sights on a place in the group stages for the second consecutive season.
This is the sort of fixture that Beale rebuilt his squad for and it is a side that has been assembled on his say-so. He will, therefore, own the failures as well as the successes.
The importance of the PSV tie, in both football and financial terms, will not be lost on the Englishman as he prepares for one of his sternest tests as a manager. It could be a moment that proves to be a turning point in the campaign for Rangers.
Every game is a must win one for a Rangers boss. Yet some naturally carry greater significance than others and Beale is in need of a statement victory to dampen the emotions in the support, to answer questions and prove points.
Beating Celtic last term was notable and thoroughly deserved, but it came after Rangers lost the two derbies that really mattered at Hampden and the first one this term is already more important given the situation in the Premiership. By the time Celtic visit Ibrox, Rangers will either have joined their Old Firm rivals in the Champions League or seen the financial disparity across the city grow once again.
Overcoming Servette to reach the play-off round was worth five million euros in prize money alone to Rangers and a tie that should have been won nine times out of ten was taken care of. The next one is different, though, a significant step up once again, and there would be no shame in exiting the competition against the Eredivise outfit.
Indeed, some may suggest that would be a palatable situation for Rangers. As it stands, Beale’s side do not look anywhere near ready for a group stage campaign and the last thing the Ibrox boss needs is to suffer the same fate as Giovanni van Bronckhorst last term as a series of humbling nights on the continent undermined a title challenge that was faltering from the first weeks.
Rangers went into the play-off last season having suffered a shock defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise and then rectified their mistake at Ibrox. In the Premiership, Livingston, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone were beaten and that memorable win in Eindhoven came on the back of a draw with Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side at Ibrox and dropped points away to Hibernian.
This time around, Beale finds himself under the same pressure. The expectation levels that were raised as deals were done over the summer have not been hit yet and there would be no better time for Rangers to click than Tuesday as Beale’s side prepare for a run that also includes a trip to Ross County and the blockbuster Old Firm showdown with Celtic next month.
The defeat to Kilmarnock on the opening day of the Premiership burst the Rangers bubble. It will take time for the ground lost to be made up and momentum has been hard to gather as small steps have been taken forward after events in Ayrshire.
There was no further damage done against Dougie Imrie’s side at the weekend and the unthinkable result – which was staring Rangers in the face after Grant Gillespie’s penalty – didn’t materialise in the end. Cyriel Dessers converted from the spot after the second VAR award of the afternoon and Danilo showed the composure expected of a near £6million striker to score the winner minutes later.
The side that takes to the pitch under the floodlights and against a cacophonous backdrop will look very different to the one that started against Morton and it is these European fixtures and Old Firm matches that will be the true test of Beale’s recruitment and his philosophy. It is not just the personnel that must alter next time out, though, after another 90 minutes that was one-paced and profligate.
Beale pinpointed the requirement for the final pass or shot to be better once again and there is a train of thought that the improvement will come naturally as a team that have been revamped from middle to front spend more time together on the training pitch and play competitive fixtures that raise levels and sharpen reactions, both individually and collectively.
The talk previously was of taking off the handbrake. So far, Rangers have rarely looked like moving through the gears and they are not a finely tuned machine that is firing on all cylinders at present.
Conceding first in matches, as they have done on three out of five occasions so far this term, is not sustainable but is not the most pressing matter right now. It is in an attacking sense where Beale needs his side to really start motoring.
Beale was encouraged by the goal and assist from Dessers and had to be heartened by the impact that Danilo made off the bench, but he would have left Ibrox on Saturday evening with no selection issues to ponder. The plan he had to negotiate Morton and PSV was not altered and he outlined how Rangers would train the following day with the group that had been earmarked for European service rather than domestic duties.
Rangers have shown little to suggest that they are at the required standard at present to compete at the highest level of the continent. Once again, the theory that Rangers are a Champions League club but a Europa League team holds water and the coming weeks will determine just how true that is.
The returns of the likes of James Tavernier, Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell will naturally have a positive impact in terms of the performance, but it is the summer signings that must start to really assert themselves at Ibrox. It is still early in the term, but snap opinions that are formed by a support with a notoriously short fuse can be difficult to overturn and questions are already being asked of Dessers and Sam Lammers given their respective fees.
The best way to win over the Ibrox crowd is the most obvious one. Winning games with the required style and substance has proven to be easier said than done thus far but that is the opportunity that now presents itself for Rangers as they prepare for a quartet of matches that will shape their aspirations and, in extreme circumstances, could define futures.
The backing of the twelfth man is as fragile as it is imperative. Beale needs the support of the support in every sense as he puts his faith in those on the park at Ibrox.
