Taking charge of your first match against Celtic at Parkhead as Rangers manager is a daunting experience in any circumstances.
Yet, Michael Beale will arguably step into his technical area at the Glasgow ground early this afternoon facing a more onerous task than any of his predecessors.
His team have to triumph if they are to have any chance of pipping their on-form city rivals – who are nine points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership table with just eight games remaining – to the Scottish title this season.
“I think that’s obvious,” he said at his pre-match press conference yesterday after overseeing a final training session at Auchenhowie. “Ultimately, all we can do is win our games. It’s Celtic’s league to throw away if you like. It doesn’t look like, outside the games against us, they will drop points.”
Prevailing will be far from straightforward; his opposite number Ange Postecoglou has never lost a domestic fixture at home since arriving in this country nearly two years ago and has a wealth of talent at his disposal.
To complicate matters further, there will be no visiting supporters in the sell-out 58,000-strong crowd as a result of a long-running stand-off between the boards of the two clubs and concerns over their safety.
Beale, though, is undeterred. He was involved in numerous matches at Parkhead during the time he spent working as the first team coach under Steven Gerrard and has a fair idea of what awaits him. If anything, he is relishing the chance to be involved.
“The expectation is big and that’s a really nice thing,” he said. “When I was assistant it’s not as if I went there in my flip-flops. I went there with the same mentality. I felt it exactly the same. I think when you are in charge you have a clearer head. Maybe you are a bit calmer.”
Rangers, who were beaten 2-1 by Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final at Hampden in February, have been written off by many fans and pundits ahead of this eagerly-anticipated meeting. They were on the receiving end of a 4-0 drubbing on their last trip across the River Clyde back in September.
Beale, who replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst as manager in November, accepts that winning the league may be beyond his side even if they come out on top today. However, he thinks an away victory in the Old Firm fixture will be important psychologically for his charges in the long run.
“We have been doing well,” he said. “I have seen a lot of pleasing things from my team. But we know there are some big moments in every season when you have to show that as a team and a staff you can win.
“I wasn’t involved in the previous game (at Parkhead) so the scars are not sat with me right now. Even if we win this game, this season might be too short. But certainly it will set us up for a brighter future, which is the main thing.
“There was a reason why I came into the job. Everyone realises the season was going a certain way and so far we have managed to change the perception a little bit, but not enough. We still have to do a bit more.”
Beale continued: “Certainly for the newer lads it would be a huge thing for them in terms of knowledge that they went and did well in this fixture and got a big result.
“In the last two games (against Celtic) I’d liked to have played better. But there were still enough big opportunities for us to execute in the final third. If you execute in those moments then nobody is talking about how you played. Everybody after this game talks about the result.
“So we’ve got to do whatever it takes to get one and certainly when you’ve got the upper hand in this derby, whether that be in points or the one-off game, it gives you a platform to move forward. I think our belief is growing all the time.”
Beale was criticised by Rangers supporters for his tactics and team selection in the wake of the defeat to Celtic back in February and he appreciates that his players must acquit themselves better in every area of the park to record an unexpected win that keeps the title race alive. But he is certain they can despite the odds being stacked against them.
“The result last time around was due to a mixture of two things,” he said. “Our organisation defensively wasn’t what I wanted it to be and what we planned it to be. And when we got the ball back we were cheap in possession. Those things are linked.
“Defensively we need to be stronger, we need to get up to people and be more aggressive, faster around the pitch. That will lead to possession. But when we’ve got the ball we have to use it more wisely and have more quality than we did that day. We know we’re more than capable of it.
“The game before that (in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox in January), I had only been back in the club three or four weeks, but we were the dominant team for large parts of it. But, again, when the chances were there we didn’t take them.”
The arrival of Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin in the January transfer window has improved Rangers and that duo, who were not involved from the start in the cup final, should make a difference to them in both midfield and attack this afternoon. Beale is sure the new boys will enjoy the experience.
“This derby is a huge privilege to be involved in,” he said. “If you weren’t involved in it you would watch it because it is gripping. It’s something you stop your day for and you plan your weekend around.
“In the days after it you either have elation or it stings. But it is important that we play this game for what it is, which is a big derby game for three points, and give it everything we’ve got. And we have to then continue improving straight after.”
