Michael Beale has warned Ange Postecoglou that he is ready to chase Celtic down for the Premiership title.
The new Ibrox boss is fully aware that he faces an uphill battle to claw back a nine-point deficit on Celtic that was left by his predecessor Gio van Bronckhorst but he is ready to go all-in to make it happen as he assesses the Rangers players over this World Cup break and aims to have them flying the resumption of the Premiership on December 15.
When Beale left Ibrox in November last year when Steven Gerrard upped sticks for Aston Villa Rangers were champions and had a four-point lead - which became six - but the pendulum has swung since then with Celtic turning that around to wrest the title back and they have motored on this season in a relentless nature as Rangers have faltered.
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Beale knows the challenge that lies ahead demanding that Rangers get on a winning run when the league returns. He told Sky Sports: "It will be difficult. Ange has got a team with momentum and fair play to him for the job that he's done to this point. My job is to chase him down and the player's job is to chase them down.
"That's a mentality shift in terms of how we look at things because when I left here we were the ones in front. So now the mentality's shifted and we have to chase them down it starts with winning all the other games, it doesn't start with games against them.
"We have to get closer. The most important thing right now is we have to reconnect with our fans in terms of the way we play, I think that's really important."
"Glasgow is intense. It's a bubble and second's last. I get that. In the last 18 months, this group has won a league unbeaten, won a Cup and got to the Europa League Final so it's perhaps not as broken as people think.
"There are a lot of teams around Europe right now that would like that record - but that's not good enough here, I get it."
Beale is delighted to have been able to bring his backroom team from QPR with him with Neil Banfield, Damien Matthew and Harry Watling on board but he hasn't finished.
He added: "There will be more to come - one or two more additions in the coming weeks because a lot of support staff have left. There has been a lot of change at the club in the last two years."
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