Unimpressed Neil McCann has shot down suggestions that the Scottish Premiership title race is over as he challenged Rangers boss frontrunner Michael Beale to catch Celtic.
It's been a lacklustre campaign at Ibrox so far this term under Gio van Bronckhorst with Ange Postecoglou's defending champions holding a nine point lead at the top of the table while the league is in cold storage for the World Cup. QPR boss and former Rangers assistant Beale looks set to be handed the job of mounting a title challenge during the second half of the campaign despite the Hoops holding a massive advantage.
Former Rangers star McCann sparred with his fellow pundits on BBC Sportsound as they suggested that the league trophy was already destined for Celtic Park before Beale had even made his Ibrox return. He insists there is enough quality in The Light Blues' dressing room to push for top spot with a winning run of results.
After Aberdeen legend Willie Miller suggested that there should be no expectations for fans on Beale with the Premiership race over, McCann interjected. He said: "You’ve got to think about how quickly things can change.
"Nobody would have seen St Mirren beating Celtic, nobody. You just don’t know how someone is going to come back from a break and what the change in their mindset is going to be. I think the change in manager; the board have looked at it and said we need to do something. There was a body language issue with the Rangers players. I still don’t believe they have become bad players, and it’s shocking that you can write a league in November.
“I think there is a group of players in there that their application is not what it should be, and that group needs a shake up. Whether that comes from a a good guy walking in the building that they can relate to or someone goes in there and shakes a few trees and says this isn’t good enough.
"There is a tradition and a demand and an acceptable performance level that you have to do when you go to a club like Rangers and Celtic. I felt it when I walked in the door, I know what it is now, and I didn’t see it in the last couple of performances and that is not because Giovanni has gone. I think if Giovanni had been given time to turn the group round he could have started getting results.”
Pressed on if there was enough quality in the group to win the league, an irked McCann didn't hold back as things got heated in the studio. He went on: “Yes. Don’t tell me there is not enough quality.
"That remains to be seen because Celtic would need to lose those points. Graeme Souness said it, and I said it the week before Graeme Souness. In fact, I text Gio (saying that there is enough quality), because he is an ex-teammate of mine; and this is where Michael Beale will understand stepping into the big shoes.
"This is a different environment. You come under different scrutiny. There is three Old Firm games to go, but he has to win Hibs at home, Aberdeen away, Ross County away and Motherwell at home and get in on the same points (gap with Celtic) or better. Are you telling me if it’s six points going into the rest or the season, then that isn’t achievable? It’s a mindset thing. That group of players have to be switched back on.
‘I think if he (Michael Beale) gets players back fit, and players playing well, you can start to reel points back in on Celtic. I think if Mick Beale takes this job is because he thinks he can do something with that squad. There could be people leaving Ange Postecoglou’s team in January, Juranovic might go. I would concede if he doesn’t get to the Celtic game with points intact it’s over, but if he does it’s a different ball game.”
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