Whoever was going to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Rangers manager faced an uphill battle in the short-term – a different type of pressure entirely to the one that the Dutchman inherited when Steven Gerrard left us four points clear at the top of the table.
Michael Beale looks as though he is going to be that man and for all that he will get time to adjust to being the boss, the fact that he knows most of the players and his surroundings means that there will be expectations of a short honeymoon period. He knows exactly what he is going to be up against.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, former Gers winger Neil McCann has far from written off Beale’s chances of reeling in Celtic at the top of the table – on one condition:
“I think there is a group of players in there that their application is not what it should be, and that group needs a shake up. Whether that comes from a a good guy walking in the building that they can relate to or someone goes in there and shakes a few trees and says this isn’t good enough.
“I think if he (Michael Beale) gets players back fit, and players playing well, you can start to reel points back in on Celtic. I think if Mick Beale takes this job is because he thinks he can do something with that squad. There could be people leaving Ange Postecoglou’s team in January, Juranovic might go. I would concede if he doesn’t get to the Celtic game with points intact it’s over, but if he does it’s a different ball game.”
Bigger gaps than nine points have been made up before in recent memory and with just one defeat in the last 12 months, Celtic are due to have a dip in form, their current level simply isn’t sustainable over an infinite period of time – Rangers have to find a consistent level to catch them up.
McCann is right, the first run of fixtures will define the rest of the season. Win every game including the Old Firm and it’s game on. Drop points and it’s game over.