New first team coach Neil Banfield has sounded a very positive appraisal of the very early stages of the Michael Beale era at Rangers.
The experienced Englishman appears to like what he sees in terms of the task ahead at Ibrox with the ultimate outcome depending on what can be returned on the pitch. In the pursuit of success, Beale, Banfield and the rest will need to coach the squad to a higher level as well as getting the new acquisitions right.
Many of the demands transcend different clubs and football environments but with Banfield having vast knowledge from his time in Arsenal’s first team setup under Arsene Wenger, he should be well placed to make a decent contribution in the coming weeks and months.
In a fairly standard interview with the club TV channel, as below, Banfield did provide some colour on his first impressions in working with the squad and the reactions of the players, as seen in the recent footage from the training ground:
“We’ve seen the quality in the squad in the last few days. The work that Michael wants to do, they’ve been very receptive to what he wants to do and the intensity.”
“I think they’re enjoying the training that Michael has put on, albeit it’s only been a short period of time. We can see there’s a good future for us.”
🎙️ Watch our exclusive interview with assistant coach Neil Banfield on RangersTV.
📺 Watch Now: https://t.co/AVqY3KBaRF
🔐 Subscribe To RTV: https://t.co/nLczsrlxfJ pic.twitter.com/cWJ9Xf2m13— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) December 5, 2022
The full clip available on Rangers TV gives some insight on the man who will work alongside Michael Beale as well as Damian Matthew and Harry Watling. Another week of training is now underway with Saturday’s practice game against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen providing a very decent warm-up ahead of the real action returning next Thursday, 15 December against Hibs at Ibrox.