Michael Beale knows that the buck stops with him as Rangers manager when it comes to giving the green light to new signings.
But the talks start with a pow-wow with his tried and trusted senior pros before he makes a final decision on recruitment targets. The Rangers boss will always have the final say but as another transfer window is snibbed shut and Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin are familiarising themselves with their new surroundings, their manager has revealed seeking the thoughts of some of the six-man leadership group is vital in assessing if a new player is the right fit. That group – James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, John Lundstram and Ryan Jack – are trusted enough to provide feedback.
And as former Standard Liege midfielder Raskin prepares to make his debut after his deadline-day signing, he can do so in the knowledge it was given the thumbs up in the dressing room even before his pen scrawled on his contract. Beale said: “People think you see players and you just go for them. I actually sit with the senior players and talk about the players I want to bring in and why I’m bringing them in.
“Why? Because it’s they who will receive them in their changing room. When you are inducting a player into a club or hoping a player is settled, there is a lot more at play than people might think. It’s not just seeing a good player, picking him up and putting him down. I want to know where they’re going. I want to know how the signing is going to fit the dynamics of our squad. I want to speak to one or two of our senior players to get their view as well. That’s important. The senior players who are here are locked in and part of everything that happens at Rangers. Every single signing we make impacts their futures as well.”
All of the players in that leadership group operated under Beale when he was first-team coach in the Steven Gerrard era. A bond was built as they won the title before Gerrard left, taking his backroom staff. But Beale was back a year later after spells at Villa and then as boss at QPR.
He added: “We have a real set way of playing and the boys have known that – there was a break for a year but I’ve come back in and they know how I think. I share a lot with them, I collaborate with them.
“I’ll say: ‘I’m bringing this player in for this reason’. We are bringing someone into our home, if you like.
“People get a little romantic about tactics, saying this coach is a good tactician and things like that. But it’s about making people feel comfortable and asking them to do what they do as well as they can. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
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