Dujon Sterling has dubbed Michael Beale a tactical genius after jumping at the chance to join his Rangers refresh.
The 23-year-old is cooling his heels in Scotland with a slight calf injury while the rest of the squad are in Germany. Sterling is hoping to be back on board sharpish and can’t wait to see his manager’s master-plan in action as Rangers look to wrest the Premiership title back across the city. The Chelsea product had a raft of clubs fighting for his signature when his contract ran out at Stamford Bridge after impressive loan spells at Blackpool and Stoke.
But Sterling admits there was only one winner once Beale made his pitch. He said: “It’s a really big opportunity for me and I’m just grateful the gaffer has the trust in me to be able to do that as well. He played a major role in me coming here. I’ve known him for more than a decade. He was the main factor plus he came in with the interest early. A lot of clubs did but he actually came all the way down south to see me and speak to me.
"What he presented to me, what he wanted me to achieve and what he wanted to achieve were all in line for my next building block. It just made sense. Already on the pitch you can see his tactical brain is genius. I ain’t got nothing else, he’s just a genius. He goes into so much detail.
"He probably has so many things rattling around in his brain but you can see everything is specific. He wants you to do this, he wants you to do that. But the way he explains it makes you think, ‘I have to do this, I have to do that’. You buy into it.
“To be fair, over the years I’ve got on with all my managers, so this isn’t anything different. But I can just feel a special connection between us. I made my mind up as soon as I walked out of that meeting. Me and my agent agreed it was the right plan for me.”
Sterling was sold on Ibrox by the manager but he revealed he also got the big build-up from Nigeria pal Calvin Bassey. He said: “I asked him, “What was your time like at Rangers?’. He said it was one of the best experiences he’s ever had and it’s made him the player he is today.
“He said it was a brilliant place to come. I can see that already, especially with how I’ve been treated around the training ground. It’s been really good. He said it was one of the best clubs in the world and he thought I should go. I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’.”
