The Rangers squad 'regressed' under Michael Beale, according to Neil Lennon.
The former Celtic manager admits he was surprised the Londoner was handed the chance to take charge of the Ibrox club in the first place after succeeding Giovanni van Bronckhorst last November.
Lenny did not seem to be enamoured by Beale's track record prior to the 43-year-old being given the reigns at Rangers while speaking on PLZ Soccer.
Beale lasted just 10 months in the job before a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen on Saturday saw the club's hierarchy take action.
That result saw Celtic extend their advantage to seven points over their arch-Glasgow rivals at the summit of the Premiership.
And Lennon is adamant that, as well as the results, the recruitment carried out by Beale has taken the club backward.
Lennon said: "I have to question why they got rid of Van Bronckhorst in the first place and get in Michael.
"I know he worked under Steven Gerrard before as a coach but it's a totally different mentality when you become the manager. He had a brief spell at QPR and I think he's a good networker. The enormity of the job started to sink in.
"He came with this huge reputation, what it was built on I don't know. The proof was in the pudding, there was no style of play, no, 'I can see why they brought this player in'. He took over recruitment in the summer when he said the squad wasn't good enough. For me, from the outside looking in, the squad hasn't improved. It's regressed.
"They've lost three out of seven in the league and I'm sorry after a year in the job that's unacceptable unless you have credit in the bank with a trophy, people have seen some sort of progress but there was none of that."
