One of the questions about Michael Beale’s appointment as Rangers manager was going to be who he would want to bring in as part of his coaching team. Fans yearning for a return to Ibrox for some of Steven Gerrard’s staff will be disappointed, however, there is a lot to be excited about.
Neil Banfield who is expected to be Beale’s assistant, has an enviable CV having spent years at Arsenal in one of Europe’s best academies before working under no less than Arsene Wenger as a first-team coach – if you are trusted by one of the game’s most eminent managerial figures to implement a coaching programme then you must have something about you.
Harry Watling might not have the same experience or high-profile reputation, however, he is exactly what many fans have been crying out for since Tom Culshaw left – a specialist set-piece coach.
A recent analysis by The Rangers Review highlighted what has been a recurring problem this season, we just haven’t scored enough goals or caused enough problems from set-pieces and it looks like Watling will be tasked with putting this right.
It’s not just been one issue either, we have been trying to move defenders about and leave 1v1s/isolate attackers but the quality of delivery hasn’t been as good or we have been desperately short of targets. In fairness, he loss of Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun, Filip Helander and Connor Goldson as options would affect any team’s chances of scoring from corners and free-kicks.
Michael Beale will be expected to be making an immediate impact and it looks as though he is going to have the right people alongside him as he sets about doing what Giovanni van Bronckhorst couldn’t – win the Scottish Premiership title.