Charlie Nicholas has told Michael Beale he must tell the Ibrox board straight what he needs to topple Celtic, but the former Hoops striker claims they won’t have to “spend fortunes” to mount a challenge against their treble-chasing rivals next season.
Nicholas offered his backing to Beale in the wake of their season-ending Scottish Cup semi-final defeat at the National Stadium despite admitting the Englishman has got some decisions wrong, such as sticking by Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent. Writing in his Scottish Daily Express column, Nicholas reckons Beale will need around £10 million for half a dozen quality players.
The 61-year-old said: “Michael Beale needs the backing of the Ibrox board if Rangers are to have any chance of closing the gap on treble-chasing Celtic. They would be absolutely crazy to get rid of this guy. He knows what is required, but is he big enough and man enough to take on this Ibrox board? Beale needs to tell them what they need to deliver for Rangers to be successful.
“Unless that happens then they will never get close to Celtic. Beale has said he could need around a dozen players this summer. He probably needs another six of genuine quality. What do they need? They need a goalkeeper. I have said it for 18 months and it sounds like they have identified one and Jack Butland could be coming.
“You need to look at things defensively, they need another central defender. They have enough in midfield even though they don’t have great quality. They could gain more confidence from their midfield but upfront they have no pace outside of Fashion Sakala. Beale is going to need to bring in pace to this squad. They need two strikers with speed.
“They don't need a lot of money to spend. They could do it for about £10 million and in that figure I would include the clearing of the decks of their bigger earners who are out of contract, like Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent. I don’t think they need to spend fortunes. Ange Postecoglou and Celtic have shown that with their recruitment under the Australian.”
Nicholas highlighted where the game was won and lost on Sunday, saying: "Where does the difference lie between these two giant clubs? The differences are in the key areas - goalkeeping and finishing! When you get chances and you don’t take them then you will get punished - at any level.
“You saw Celtic’s goal. James Tavernier fell asleep but they all fell asleep and I include Allan McGregor in that. Jota had a free header after Daizen Maeda had been given the freedom of the right hand side to put in a cross. I have been critical of McGregor all season because Rangers shouldn’t have renewed his contract and he should have been replaced.
“If that cross had gone into the Celtic box then Joe Hart would have made an attempt to get to the ball. McGregor never and because of that the entire Rangers backline is culpable - at the highest level. They have been exposed again and on top of that they don’t have forwards who can get them out of trouble.
“The danger man again was Tavernier. You can’t leave everything to your right-back! Beale can’t keep making the same mistakes. Kent hasn’t kicked his backside in two seasons and Morelos hasn’t even attempted to get himself fit over recent months. Sakala is unpredictable but Morelos has become predictable because he can’t run, he can’t get in behind and does get into physical challenges anymore.
“So Beale got it wrong again and took forever to take him off. Ange got his big decisions right and that was the main difference in the game. It wasn’t quality, urgency or determination. Beale will walk away thinking what an opportunity his team has missed. How will he get over it? He will but it will take time.”
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