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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Gavin Berry

Michael Beale insists Rangers romp gives suffering supporters 'oxygen' as he claims they turned tables on Celtic

Michael Beale hopes Rangers’ suffering fans can take belief for next season from their derby stroll at Ibrox.

The Light Blues boss dedicated the 3-0 victory over Celtic to the supporters who have endured a miserable campaign. Todd Cantwell fired the Light Blues into an early opener before John Souttar nodded in a second before the break and Fashion Sakala rounded off the victory with a third for the home side. After a run of three defeats in a row against the Hoops, it was a big victory for Beale even if there was nothing more than pride at stake.

And the Englishman told Sky Sports: “I’ve got all the belief and faith but it gives the fans a lot of oxygen in the summer and something to hold on to and believe moving forward. They’ve had a tough season. I thought they were outstanding and we promise to build a stronger Rangers next year and come back and try and do them proud but that’s how I want Rangers to come across to the outside world in terms of the energy and passion on the pitch and in the stand.

“The crowd pushed for it and were outstanding at the start of the game and that gave the team extra energy on top of the motivation we gave each other. We started the game really well and took a chance - a very similar chance to two we’ve missed in two big games against Celtic this season - so we got off to a good start.

“Both teams went hell for a leather in the first 15 minutes and that’s what this fixture is known for. The big moments went for us and in the other games this season they’ve gone for Celtic. We’ve had chances and missed them and they had a chance hitting the post and they made a mistake and we punished them for the third goal.

"It was a good game and my players gave a real good performance. It’s a new back four coming together. Robby in goal, that’s the second clean sheet for him in this fixture. Ridvan was very good and John Souttar has come back from injury hell and scores a goal that will live long in the memory for him. The back four were good and the midfield three were fantastic.”

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