Michael Beale admitted he got plenty of answers from the pulsating Ne'erday Ibrox draw but there were a few questions for the new Light Blues boss - and the same goes for counterpart Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou doesn't have to change much considering he's in charge of the reigning champions and boasts a nine-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership that will almost certainly see the big Aussie make it back-to-back titles from two seasons in the east end of Glasgow.
However, that doesn't mean he will settle for standing still and there was certainly room for improvement in terms of a performance that gave him enough to think about as Celtic were second best for spells of the entertaining 2-2 draw. Here, Record Sport picks out some of the issues that might be in the mind of both managers following the Ibrox stalemate.
Benchmark
Nothing summed up the gulf between the champions and Rangers like the substitutions made in the game with a real contrast as both managers turned to their bench to make changes. Ange Postecoglou was able to call upon a £6 million man in Jota who helped conjure up the late leveller while two World Cup stars in Josip Juranovic, albeit he didn’t have his best game, and Aaron Mooy were also introduced. Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis have also been Premiership standouts. But what about Michael Beale? James Sands doesn’t look worth the reported £4.5 million fee the Ibrox side will have to pay to get him on a permanent deal as he failed to help close out the game which was the intention of his introduction. Scott Wright has failed to make a real impact on the first team during two years, while Ryan Jack replaced the injured John Lundstrum earlier and to be fair is someone Beale regards as good enough be in his XI.
Matt O’Riley
When you go from League One in England to the Champions League in less than a year then it’s almost inevitable that you will suffer a dip at some point. The former MK Dons man has enjoyed a meteoric rise and showed his versatility when filling in for crocked Callum McGregor. It seemed at one point that the Denmark Under-21 man could do nothing wrong. But for the first time there have been calls for the 22-year-old to be dropped.
And maybe a spell out would benefit O’Riley, not least because Aaron Mooy probably deserves a run with the Aussie, on the back of his World Cup exploits, having a hand in Celtic’s late equaliser after coming off the bench. O’Riley wasn’t up to his usual standard, and hasn’t been in some recent games, with Reo Hatate helping to compensate with a top display. It will be interesting to see if he retains his spot in the starting XI against Kilmarnock on Saturday
Contrast in contract rebels
Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson said at the club’s AGM that Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent are two very different situations despite both being in the same situation of being out of contract at the end of the season. “The two players involved – Ryan and Alfredo – are two very different situations,” he said. "I don't think it is fair to go into why they are different.” Draw your own conclusions from that statement but in terms of performance they are certainly very different. Two players who could really make the difference in big games at the peak of their powers, only one seems to have rediscovered that under Michael Beale. It was always like be Kent who responded the best to Beale’s appointment given their relationship stretches back to their Liverpool days. He produced an exquisite goal while Morelos fluffed his lines with two missed headers from corners late in the first half and that was after gifting Celtic possession at their opening goal. On recent evidence, only Kent would be worthy of a new deal.
Jur going to have to do better
It emerged at the start of the World Cup that attempts to get Josip Juranovic to sign a new deal had stalled. The Croatia full back is contracted until 2026 but that news saw talk of a potential Parkhead exit ramped up, with the champions braced for bids. Barcelona and Chelsea are among the big clubs said to be interested. But how has all this talk affected a player who could also be impacted psychologically from returning from the high of helping his country to a bronze medal in Qatar 2022? Well, on the evidence of his display at Ibrox then not very well. Juranovic was given an early introduction due to Greg Taylor’s injury as natural left back replacement Alexandro Bernabei was overlooked in favour of Juranovic. But he was well off it with Alfredo Morelos out jumping him for a chance late in the first half and Fashion Sakala giving him a torrid time. Ange Postecoglou will no doubt be watching him closely and every player is allowed an off day but if his head is elsewhere then it could be better to move him on.
Loan Rangers
The Light Blues have option to sign Malik Tillman and James Sands on permanent deals in the summer. The reported combined fee would be around £10.5 million. Tillman accounts for £6 million of that and it has to be said that he would easily be the priority. He could have been the derby hero with a late chance that would have killed the game only for his USA team-mate Cameron Carter-Vickers to make a superb block to deny the on-loan Bayern Munich man.
Tillman is the type of player who could really flourish under Michael Beale. He showed even in patches under Giovanni van Bronckhorst what a quality player he is. But James Sands is a ‘Jack of all trades’ whose versatility is handy to have but hasn’t quite managed to nail down a role in this team and for that kind of money quotes, Beale will surely be looking for better.
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