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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Michael Beale warning as Charlie Nicholas makes sporting director suggestion

Charlie Nicholas has warned Michael Beale that he cannot do it all himself at Rangers.

The Ibrox manager last week revealed that he will front a sizable portion of the duties Ross Wilson left behind after the sporting director joined Nottingham Forest.

Rangers are expected to announce a replacement for Wilson in the summer, but until then, it seems Beale will carry on with his recruitment planning as well as coaching the first team.

That's no easy feat though and former Celtic ace Nicholas reckons it will leave Beale with far too much on his plate with six league games, plus a semi-final and potential final still to come for Rangers in the coming months.

Nicholas believes Rangers must act swiftly to replace Wilson. 

And the pundit is adamant that David Weir is the right man to take on the job.

He wrote in his Daily Express column: “There is no way Michael Beale can continue to fill both the job of manager and sporting director at Rangers. He has a really clever football brain and is very knowledgeable, but adopting Ross Wilson’s responsibilities on top of his own is impossible.

“With the Scot jumping ship to Nottingham Forest, Beale has told Ibrox chiefs he can perform a dual role until the end of the season – but he is taking too much on. It will eventually reach a point where he gets the blame for everything.

“Beale is getting caught up in too many issues and it doesn’t look like he has enough support. There doesn’t seem to be a clear strategic plan at Ibrox.

“Rangers need to go back to the drawing board because, as things stand, they have no hope of toppling Celtic unless Ange Postecoglou leaves. And if Beale isn’t able to flex his muscles in the transfer market this summer then they will continue to be a substandard team that’s way behind their Old Firm rivals.

“So, who should Gers turn to when looking for Wilson’s replacement? The likes of Christian Nerlinger has been linked with the vacancy but, for me, the standout candidate is David Weir.

“He has been at Rangers as both a player and assistant manager to Mark Warburton, so he knows what the club is all about. If Weir can be lured from Brighton – where he has been technical director for a year – it would be a no-brainer.

"The 52-year-old is experienced in this field and will be well aware of where Rangers need to get to. The Ibrox board need to make an appointment quickly.

“They then have to put a blueprint in place to take the club forward, otherwise it will just continue to drift. I’m sure Beale has an idea of where he wants to take things but he has to be assertive and tell his bosses what he needs. If not, the fans will come after him and the board again.

“The Rangers fans have been looking for someone to blame, and for months Dave King has been criticising his successor as chairman, Douglas Park. With Park resigning a fortnight ago, Wilson was left standing as the scapegoat but there isn’t a sporting director who’ll get every transfer right.”

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