Time for Rangers to do talking on pitch as careless soundbites hurt club

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If a football team is a reflection of the man managing it, then it is little wonder Rangers have suddenly become the most open side in football under Michael Beale.

At least off the park.

The former Ibrox assistant is a world away from former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst in that he’ll actually provide the media with quotes and fans with updates.

The problem is, as the Englishman’s tenure begins to unfold, he’s probably doing it too much. And it’s not exactly helping.

Dutch boss Gio was a stern faced, media-trained, silent assassin in front of the press but a defensive attitude came back to haunt him as his ill-fated Ibrox stint came to an end.

Those comments about Rangers not being able to “compete” with Ajax – although he probably meant financially – haunted Gio in his last few months and by the time he left, Rangers fans had turned with a lack of information being filled by the Twitter vacuum.

But the turgid Rangers side we seen under Van Bronckhorst was rejuvenated, at least initially, by the appointment of Michael Beale who brought a more positive, open approach to Ibrox.

Michael Beale must set Rangers soundbite standard

Now however, the openness the former Liverpool and Chelsea youth coach has with the press is mounting the pressure on not only the transfer window but on the park.

Rangers are going to evolve the side with five transfers, but everyone whose played the last few weeks – save McGregor and Morelos – are staying.

Ominous words for a team who’ve generated an apathy rarely seen before at Ibrox.

Beale’s players too have followed suit; Fashion Sakala was left red-faced after just completely baseless comments heading into that League Cup Final. The less said about James Tavernier’s apologies post-match the better too.

John Lundstram – a high-earner who is quite simply failing to deliver at Rangers – is another whose been out poking out Old Firm rivals, whilst you can also add Todd Cantwell to the mix.

Then there’s Ibrox assistant Neil Banfield, who spoke this week about Michael Beale being cut from the same cloth as the likes of Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsman and even Arsene Wenger. More needless pressure.

It’s all talk, all bluster, and all it does is heap the pressure on the Rangers team heading into these matches, the club heading into the summer, and the fans in conversations with rivals in workplaces and bars the length of the country.

If you’re going to talk the talk, you need to able to walk the walk, and whilst we’re hearing loud bellows from Ibrox, the team is limping, some of them literally on crutches, when it’s in eye shot.

If you ask us, it’s time for the talking to stop and the action to begin and it starts with Michael Beale whose said all the right things since joining Rangers, but has so far failed to deliver when it really matters.