It is said that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. Somewhere in the middle, there is the truth about where Rangers are six games into the campaign.
Three wins have been earned and eleven goals have been scored. The fact that they are shared amongst a handful of different players is one of the positives for Michael Beale right now.
Ironically, it was a match that Rangers didn’t win that was the most well-received with supporters and the reaction to the draw with PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday evening has been positive.
The challenge now for Beale’s side is to win more often than not. Given the schedule that they are the midst of, that is easier said than done but the accomplishment of that ambition would be a real statement of intent at home and abroad.
A trip to face Ross County this afternoon poses a threat that is well known. A return to European action awaits just days later and a defining sequence ends with the first Old Firm fixture of the season.
Beale has mixed and matched – sometimes through choice, others through necessity – in his new look Ibrox attack thus far. Everyone has played a part in some way, shape or form and he knows each member of his forward line will be called upon at various stages of the season.
“I think we have had seven different goal scorers as well, which gets lost on people,” Beale said. “Sima’s got two, Lammers one, Matondo one, Danilo two, Dessers two, and Todd’s waiting for a goal to arrive as we have Kemar and Todd coming back into the squad. So we have a lot of attacking players.
“With nine games across the first month of the season you have to rotate, or else you end up in the position you were in with injuries after the first international break and you are playing catch up.
“We need a big squad. I think if we were successful enough to get to the League Cup final that is 14 or 15 three-game weeks. The only break is international break.
“We have a three-game week now, we had a three-game week last week, and when we come back from the international break three-game week, three-game week, you are playing every three days.
“Naturally suspensions and injuries are going to come through. If you don’t have a squad, the schedule can eat you.
“So the fact we have got a lot of different types of forwards, we have got a lot of players in competition, I think over the season that’s going to be important.”
Beale has seen that level of competition increase once again in recent days and he will have two familiar but rarely seen faces within his ranks for the County clash this afternoon.
Tom Lawrence has yet to kick a ball for the Ibrox boss, while Kemar Roofe has endured a stop-start couple of seasons as injuries have disrupted his career. Both are now fit, ready and willing to play their part.
“Really a big boost,” Beale said of having Lawrence and Roofe back in his squad. “We have been waiting for the right moment to do it.
“I wouldn’t play Kemar three games in a week, or Tom, so they were left out of the European squad just for that rather than whether they were fit or not. After such a long period out for both of them it is more important that we have them for domestic competitions.
“I think we have suffered not having them in domestic competitions rather than Europe. They are two players that I class as starters, or in the rotation of starting, so if they get back to their best then that will only make us stronger.”
The returns of Lawrence and Roofe are timely for Beale. As the close of the transfer window approaches, the squad that he is aiming to lead to the title is all-but in place at Ibrox.
The opening weeks of the campaign have been mixed in terms of performances and results and Rangers remain very much a work in progress at present.
Nobody can or will get ahead of themselves. Yet Beale is encouraged by what he has seen and what he believes is still to come before everyone has a chance to take stock during the international break.
“A lot of things go into team building,” Beale said. “It is not just having the ball and having everything your own way.
“In the other games pretty much we had the ball and it was whether we could find the connections, take our chances. The other night we played a team a little bit slicker than us at the moment, a little bit more secure than us and we had to find other qualities.
“I think PSV would have come off the pitch and thought ‘bloody hell, they have a strong will as a team’. That’s a good thing for me.
“I’d like to see us try and have a bit more quality next week over in Eindhoven, in terms of staying with the ball and creating more chances because I think the chances are there for us.
“But in terms of a gritty, working hard, sticking together and fighting in a game where it is not perfect for you, there were a lot of other qualities we haven’t been able to show yet, so there were pleasing signs. I’m sure [the County] game, at certain moments Ross County are going to make us defend and those qualities are going to be really important.”
The attributes that Rangers will require over the course of the campaign are varied and extensive. Come the end of it, Beale will know if his rebuild was a success or not.
Rangers have started to gather some momentum after the false start to the campaign that saw them suffer a costly defeat to Kilmarnock on the opening day of the campaign.
It has, as ever, been a rollercoaster few weeks at Ibrox. Through it all, Beale has had had a keep calm and carry on mindset as manager.
“We always focus on the next game because you never start 1-0 up or 1-0 down,” Beale said. “You don’t get anything for looking back or getting too high or low.
“That can be difficult because you can say that to players but you have to live it. You have to put games to bed and then focus. It’s important that we are strong on all fronts and that’s why we need a strong squad.
“I get that people are looking for a team to bed down but we will need a squad of 21 or 22 players to contribute due to the amount of competitions that we are in. We are playing every three days and we don’t want a squad that gets eaten up by the schedule.
“Last year, we had huge issues across the pitch in terms of injuries. We were basically picking players who were available and a few boys played when they probably shouldn’t have.”
