Rangers find themselves in an interesting situation right now. Not only are they nine points behind Celtic in the Premiership title race but without a manager as well, after having shown Giovanni van Bronckhorst the exit door. If rumours are anything to go by then Michael Beale has emerged as the favourite for the Ibrox job over the past few days.
Beale is currently the manager of QPR and is believed to have turned down a chance to join Wolves a little over a month back. But it looks like he could hold some interest in making a return to Ibrox.
Beale was the part of the coaching staff at the club, when Steven Gerrard was the Rangers’ manager. He was also believed to be the tactical mastermind behind the Glasgow giants’ Premiership triumph a couple of years ago.
Yet, everybody knows that it is very different being a manager and the pressure is much higher. In that respect, Beale has only half-a-season worth of experience. Thus, if the Rangers do end up appointing him, it would be a major risk on their part. As reported by Football Insider, Kevin Campbell said:
"“It’s difficult to know if Beale is the best man for the job.“He’s had success at Rangers before, yes – but only as a coach.“I think he’s learning on the job right now, doing well at QPR – but Rangers is a completely different animal. It’s a massive club.”"
Rangers told reality of the Beale situation as they try to catch Celtic
According to stats from Transfermarkt, Beale has managed in 22 games till now, winning 9, losing 9 and drawing 4.
His QPR team had made a bright start to the season but have hit a rough patch recently. They are winless in five games, and lost four of them.
If Beale does end up taking the Rangers job, it is safe to say that he will be under a lot of pressure to deliver. And it could very well be a big chance for Celtic to increase the gap between themselves and the Ibrox side further.
Of course, an appointment has not been made yet and it remains to be seen if Beale ends up in the Ibrox hot seat or not.