When Michael Beale came back to Rangers last November, the former QPR boss did so against the backdrop of Premier League interest in his services.
The former Ibrox assistant had only just turned down the Premier League advances of Wolves, a genuinely intriguing job for any manager, but a few months into his management career.
As his QPR project began to fire, Michael Beale earned commendations aplenty from Loftus Road and in the English press for turning down such an opportunity until big bad Rangers came along to spoil things.
Steven Gerrard’s former right-hand man has been clear since leaving Govan that only a fool would turn down the chance to manage this institution, the club now woven into the highly-rated coach’s heart following his initial spell in Scotland.
Having started his youth coaching career with Chelsea, blue is a colour which Michael Beale is all too familiar with and whilst his time in full management has been short, it’s that stint at Cobham which has proven the springboard for a revered career.
Time with Liverpool and in the youth footballing set up south of the border has seen Beale earn rave reviews from some of this generation’s best young Lions, with the coach’s people skills and footballing intellect helping to mould innumerable careers south of the border.
Throw in some time with Sao Paolo in Brazil, and stints at Ibrox and Aston Villa alongside Steven Gerrard, and there’s a reason why the Premier League has already cast its eyes towards Michael Beale.
Michael Beale chose Rangers over the Premier League
Just as voices south of the border and the Rs support celebrated when Michael Beale turned those Premier League advances down, they groaned almost as loud when the manager took Rangers up on their offer.
To some, the Ibrox boss’ move back to Glasgow was the ultimate breach of loyalty, but for those closer to the Rangers boss, a return to his spiritual home in Govan is perhaps the exact opposite.
Pulling a genuinely devastated squad up by their black and red socks last season, Rangers’ minor recovery under Michael Beale was genuinely impressive given the backdrop of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s injury-ravaged and tepid half-season.
But losing out to Celtic at Hampden in the hunt for both cups is a devastating black mark on the Rangers boss’ early tenure, even with the notion that those who played are not the Ibrox manager’s own being the case of the defence.
A 3-0 hammering of Old Firm rivals Celtic at Ibrox before the season ended proved there are shoots of recovery in Beale’s Rangers, with the starring inclusion of Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin symbolic of the team’s rejuvenation.
Add into that the fact that there has been a substantial squad overhaul this summer, with Beale set to be strongly backed in a major statement of support within a revamped Ibrox boardroom, and suddenly those excuses evaporate.
Rangers board have backed their man
Whilst Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling, Jack Butland and Leon Balogun have joined on free-contracts, and Abdallah Sima on loan, Rangers have reportedly spent £3.5m on Sam Lammers and £5.5m on Cyriel Dessers.
With a £6m deal set for Feyenoord striker Danilo, and anywhere up to £2m to be spent on Jose Cifuentes, suddenly the summer spend goes up into the high teens.
Take into account that Rangers are also on the hunt for a left-sided defender, then between signing on, loan and transfer fees we’re talking about the guts of a £20m investment this summer.
After being afforded the financial backing to build a squad in his image, the pressure is now on Michael Beale to prove his worth at Rangers as a head coach with Premier League pedigree.
In the midst of a productive summer, it’s time to see how good Michael Beale the manager really is.
