One thing that we have learned from Michael Beale’s first few months as Rangers manager is that he loves to talk. This isn’t necessarily a good or a bad thing but, at every opportunity, his passion for football is clear to see.
Rangers TV released a fascinating interview with the boss this week, Emma Dodds and Kevin Thomson were virtual spectators as Beale spoke at length with little prompting. During the conversation, in which he covered a wide range of subjects, one of those was the direction that he sees the squad going in the summer:
🎙️ In conversation with Michael Beale.
The manager joined @Sports_EmmaD and @KThomsonAcademy in the Blue Sky Lounge to discuss the start of his spell in charge at Rangers.
📺 Watch the extended feature: https://t.co/vpi2j7NR8R
👉 Subscribe To RTV: https://t.co/nLczsr3Wob pic.twitter.com/Ou3gvnw9LU— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) February 15, 2023
Interestingly, he referred to his time at Aston Villa and how important pace was at the highest level, he also spoke about having two players for every position but that having “hybrids” – players who are flexible depending on the game plan – was equally as important as he looks to rebuild the squad.
With James Sands likely to return to New York and Steven Davis and Ryan Jack out of contract, one area he might look to is one where we looked like we were going to strengthen last summer – defensive midfield.
Players like Dejan Ljubicic, Abdoulaye Sissaka and Eric Martel were all named as possible targets and all are capable of dropping into defence despite being, predominantly, a traditional number six.
At the moment, we have a lot of 6/8 hybrids but only Sands as one who can naturally cover in defence too and he just hasn’t done enough to suggest that we will pay the rumoured £4.5million fee to sign him permanently.
As we saw in the Champions League, when you step up a level, the defence needs to have that sort of protection because we just don’t have the players to contribute at both ends of the park.
If a goalkeeper and number nine are the priority, I’d be surprised if a physically imposing defensive midfielder who can cover at centre-half isn’t far behind them.