Michael Beale has admitted that he can’t get his head around the lack of belief his Rangers players have in their own ability at times.
The Ibrox boss watched his side dismantle Hibs in a sensational show at Easter Road on Wednesday and reckons his squad should now understand the heights they are capable of reaching. While winning the league remains a long shot with Celtic matching Rangers win for win to maintain their nine-point lead at the top, Beale has made no bones about the importance of retaining the Scottish Cup, ahead of Sunday’s quarter final clash with Raith Rovers at Ibrox.
He said: “That is seven away wins consecutively. It is not easy to do that. All we can do is, as a team, keep trying to get better. Sometimes I am a bit bemused that the belief is not there because when they actually play how I know they can they look a very good team.
“It (the Scottish Cup) is a huge priority, every game is at the moment. I need to see certain things every game, I need to feel the energy in the group and in the style.
“A lot is said about style but I think it comes off the back of hard work, cohesion and organisation. Wednesday was a real big step in the right direction, it’s now up to the players to stay there.”
Beale revealed he’s tweaked the Rangers system and he’s getting the best out of Antonio Colak, who added a double on Wednesday to his man of the match performance against Kilmarnock at the weekend. The Rangers boss added: “He goes and presses and works for his team-mates.
"He is part of the team. I am delighted for him because he didn’t score at the weekend and his whole game is not about scoring. Some of his link play, his movement, he is infectious in terms of his energy.
"He has not been able to show me what he has because he got injured before I came in and he has been playing bit parts here and there. The last few weeks he has started to look really fit, his personality has come out in the group. I am delighted for him.
“I thought it was a really top performance and you could see that with the way the stadium was at the end. The home fans had obviously left, so we had been dominant in the game.
“We have been working on something else behind the scenes in terms of the way we want to play and the energy we want up the pitch and a different shape. We won 3-1 at the weekend and were 3-0 up at half-time, on Wednesday we scored four goals and we have got a big cup quarter final coming up.
“Although we are working on other things behind the scenes, at the moment what we are actually doing is very good anyway.”
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