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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Michael Beale insists Rangers 'against the odds' comments were taken out of context

Michael Beale has claimed his comments on competing "against the odds" had been taken out of context as he insisted he is the man for the job at Rangers.

The Ibrox boss was quizzed on his comments after the Viaplay Cup final loss to Celtic when he mentioned battling "against the odds" with perceived references to finances and the summer transfer window.

Beale, however, suggested the quotes had been taken out of context as he insisted he has no concerns regarding finances to transform his squad.

Instead, Beale stated Rangers are against the odds because they are behind in the league and have just lost a cup final to Celtic.

The Ibrox boss continued to detail his optimism going forward this summer and beyond.

On BBC Sportsound, Beale said: "Listen, I think that might have been taken out of context.

"We're competing against the odds at the moment because we're behind.

"We're behind in terms of me being a new manager coming in and clearly behind in the league. We've just lost a cup final to our biggest rivals so we have to turn the odds.

"We're competing against the odds, we're not level pecking right now, that's not how I got the job.

"So, we need to turn the odds, I've done it before, I was as part of the management team that done that, I'm fully confident we will do it again.

"I'm not worried about the future in terms of the money we have got to spend or anything like that.

"I made the comment that actually when we spent less we seem to get more sometimes.

"I'm optimistic about the future and excited by it but I'm really disappointed by this week so it's important we start to move forward quickly with the decisions we need to make."

Beale then batted away a question on whether the job at Rangers was larger than he first expected.

And in an impassioned conclusion to the answer, he insisted he and the club are "going after" the challenges facing the Ibrox side.

Beale said: "No, before accepting to come back I knew the job that needed to be done.

"If you come in and you win 13 of the first 14 games I knew there would be some bumps in the road. That one last week was a horrible one, I ain't going to make any excuses about it. We were the second-best team on the day.

"The fans deserve no rubbish to be spoken in terms of excuses. There are no excuses. We are competing against the odds in terms of turning it around because clearly, we are behind at the moment.

"I feel I am the man for the job. I know the players I want to go on that journey with, I know the areas we want to recruit and the way that we have got to do it.

"We have got to get to the summer to action it. Between now and then we have got 12 league games, a cup quarter-final, we need to go hell for leather for everyone and we need to do better.

"That's the clear thing, the message to come out of the building from me to the players out of the clubs to our fans. We know we need to do better and we're working night and day to try and do that. All we can do is try to win the next game that is in front of us.

"We've got a big week in front of us. I don't want anyone to think I'm not strong in my convictions moving forward and the club ain't. We are. We know the challenges ahead and we're going after them."

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