Michael Beale has promised to play an exciting, attacking brand of football that will not only get their fans off their seats but also revive Rangers’ title charge. And Rangers fans will the first glimpse of life under their new boss today when their side takes on Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly at Ibrox.
Former striker Flo Kamberi is not surprised that Beale has vowed to reignite Gers' attacking style because he saw it for himself as he worked under the Londoner and Steven Gerrard in his first spell at Ibrox back in 2020. The Swiss star admitted that Beale took a lot of the attacking drills and plays and was always looking for that bit of magic or cutting edge from his players at the top end of the park.
Rangers have lacked a spark in the run-up to the World Cup break and that along with Celtic pulling clear in the Premiership lead to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s departure. That was when the Ibrox side turned to their top target Beale and headhunted him from Queen’s Park Rangers, having seen the part he played in Steven Gerrard’s spell as manager.
Kamberi explained: “When we got the ball from the defence or the midfield it was always, 'where are our strikers'? It was all about offensive football, creating chances and scoring goals.
“I think Mick will do exactly the same again now he is manager at Rangers. He did a lot of work with the offensive side of the squad, from the shooting drills or coming up with something to give us that extra bit of quality in the final third.
“I think that is also how Mick worked at QPR with two coaches under him. One specialised in defence (Damian Matthew), the other midfield (Neil Banfield) and Mick did a lot of the attacking work, so you have a good mix there. Mick was always trying to improve us individually as a player and together as a team.
"If he sees something you can do better then he will show you and point it out to you. You could definitely see he loved working with the attacking players.”
Another big strength of Beale is that he is a people person. The Rangers squad seems to have got a lift from his return and Kamberi can see why.
The Huddersfield Town-bound star admitted: “I had a very good relationship with Mick from day one at Rangers. I genuinely think he will be a very good manager at Rangers.
“He was really important at Rangers under Steven Gerrard, when he was the first-team coach. Mick did a lot of stuff in training and was heavily involved in the tactics. He really went into real detail but he has this way of explaining things really clearly so that you are in no doubt what you need to do when you go out on the pitch.
“Even away from football he is a guy you like and get on with. He is a really nice human being.”
The sparkle around the likes of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos has certainly disappeared in recent months. Kamberi knows Beale could be the man to get the soon to be out-of-contract pair shining again, even if they are both likely to leave on freedom of contract come the summer.
“A player might not be performing as well as they have in the past but you don’t know what is going on in people’s personal lives,” Kamberi insisted. “You have to respect that.
“It is always easy to point and say you are now playing like you did last season. There can be many reasons for that.
“It is difficult to see from the outside. What I would say is that Alfredo and Ryan know Mick and he knows them. There is nothing new there.
“I think he can get the best out of them. He showed that in his time at Rangers the first time around. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see them both playing as well as they can again in a Rangers jersey over the coming weeks.”
The new Ibrox gaffer had only 21 games as a manager with QPR but Kamberi believes his previous stint at Ibrox will alleviate any fears about a lack of experience. He explained: “He had a good start at Queen’s Park Rangers.
"I know it was more difficult in their last few games but you can see the progress he made there in such a short space of time. You can understand why Rangers have appointed Mick as head coach.
"He knows the club and the people at the club know him. He knows how the club works and the majority of the players worked under him previously and knows how he operates, so it is a great move for both sides.”
Kamberi is also well aware that Beale will have learned a lot from the likes of Gerrard and Gary McAllister in their time together at Rangers and then Aston Villa. He added: “While I was there Mick was a very big part under Steven Gerrard. I always thought he would go on to become a head coach in his own right.
“I think there is a very good chance he will be very successful at Rangers. When Steven Gerrard was in charge everybody knew what a career and big name he was. Everyone respected him and it was a very good combination of Steven, Gary McAllister, Tom Culshaw and Mick.
"Mick will have taken things from all of them because he wants to continue to evolve as a coach and now a manager. He now has this opportunity at Rangers, let’s see how Mick does on his own. I certainly wish him all the best and I hope he will do well.”
