Michael Beale got the balloons and bunting out as Rangers stormed their way to Seville. And he reckons Gio van Bronckhorst’ s side are ready to fly the flag again by making it a double delight for Scotland in the Champions League.
The former Ibrox No.2 threw a bash for his kids as the team he helped Steven Gerrard construct faced their Europa League date with destiny. In the end, Eintracht Frankfurt ended up being the party-poopers as they snatched immortality away from van Bronckhorst’s men with their shoot-out victory in southern Spain.
The mood may have fallen flat in the Beale household that night but the now departed Light Blues first-team coach is convinced spirits will be high at Ibrox as Rangers look to build on last year’s achievements.And he reckons they are primed to dance up a storm at home and abroad this season by first joining Celtic in the Champions League group stage before beating the Hoops to the Premiership crown.
Asked if he’d cast an envious eye as van Bronckhorst led out his old side in Seville, Beale, now in charge of QPR, said: “There was no jealously – I was just so proud. We even had a Rangers party in my house with my children.
“It was just real pride and pride for the players. They were fulfilling what I thought they could fulfil. They were so unlucky on the night but maybe that’s in line with Scottish teams in Europe in general, so close but yet so far away. It was one kick of a ball.
“I was so proud. I followed the journey. Gio did a great job and it’s his team now, he can be proud of the achievement of getting to the final and getting so close. Now they have to take that frustration into this season and put it into their domestic campaign.
“Ange has done a fantastic job and is such a nice guy. But I don’t see anyone stronger than Rangers. I’m biased, I still see the Rangers squad as the strongest squad. I worked out the final in Seville was the 64th game the club played in Europe over four years. That’s an unbelievable amount. Connor Goldson probably played all of them.
“At Champions League qualifying level – which is Europa League level really – they have a very experienced squad at that level. I’ll be cheering them on again when the qualifiers come round and I’ve a feeling they’ll make the groups this year.”
Beale was convinced Rangers had it in them to go the distance and reach the Champions League groups last year. But instead they were caught cold by a Malmo outfit who had the luxury of a dozen or so domestic games to get warmed up. That’s a scenario van Bronckhorst won’t have to worry about as he waits for the outcome of Monday’s third qualifying round draw.
Potential opponents are Monaco, Sturm Graz and Union Saint-Gilloise and the winner of the tie involving Midtjylland and AEK Larnaca. All five sides play traditional July to May campaigns as opposed to the summer seasons preferred in Scandinavia.
And Beale said: “It was a hugely disappointing time because the potential of the team was better than the results we got. We had it in our hands so we take full responsibility for that as a management team.
“We were playing a team that was 15 or 16 games into their season. That’s not an excuse, it’s a fact. We had the overhang of some suspensions from the year before and one or two players not returning from international duty.
"So we weren’t in a fantastic place but we still had enough to win that game. It was disappointing. This year it’s disappointing they’re not going in direct but with the form they’ve shown in Europe, they should get through.”
Beale was a key figure in the Gerrard revolution, helping formulate the ambitious sales pitch that allowed Gers to recruit the men who would deliver the club’s 2021 title success and run to Seville. Now the Rangers board is looking to reap a profit. They’ve turned a £300,000 outlay on Joe Aribo into a £10million bonanza and there could be more if Calvin Bassey follows the new Southampton ace out the door.
Beale reckons Gerrard deserves much of the credit and he added: “We had a vision and we recruited to towards that vision. If you go back to Steven’s first interview, he talked about ‘bumps in the road’ and there were a few! But we stayed strong with our ideas. We didn’t listen to the background noise and we recruited for a system.
“Rangers are in a strong position with their current squad and how the club is viewed outside compared to when Steven started in 2018. That’s all you can do as a manager and a coach.”
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