Simon Jordan has issued a reminder to Rangers fans that Michael Beale is no magician.
Speaking on talkSPORT this lunchtime, the highly successful entrepreneur gave his thoughts on Celtic's 1-0 win at Ibrox over the weekend.
Boss Michael Beale has understandably come in for some intense scrutiny from a section of the Rangers faithful after another derby defeat. It also came just days after his side dropped into the Europa League after a 5-1 hammering at the hands of PSV.
Jordan - who has been critical of Beale in the past - has told his doubters that he's not Harry Potter, and that with Celtic boasting better players and Brendan Rodgers, is it little wonder that the champions came out on top.
He told Jim White: "Well, is it right or is it the reality of managing either Rangers or Celtic? He hasn't been there for a significant period of time, but he's been there for the best part of almost a year now. It's not as if he's been there for five minutes.
"I'm not suggesting he should be getting the boot, but he should be feeling the ramifications of the fact that they've just got jettisoned from the Champions League, you know, sent out of it with the tail between their legs. They're getting beat by their major rivals, which is almost the litmus test.
"So, what is it he was brought in to do? Was it a long-term plan? Was it designed to give him time to be able to catch Celtic? Or is the reality of that situation that you don't get any time?
"Rangers broke the seal by winning the league under (Steven) Gerrard. It's all gone pear-shaped from there because Celtic regained their poise.
"His job, on the basis of understanding that, and clearly he must've understood that because he's been there previously, Gerrard was given a period of time but he's not Steven Gerrard, he doesn't have the same perceived cache as him. The project of Rangers was at a different time then. It was ultimately that Rangers had got back into the Premiership and it was about establishing itself as a meaningful force, they won a league and stopped Celtic from winning 10 in a row.
"We are now in a situation where the guy is feeling some pressure. Okay, that goes with the territory. Should he be sacked? I don't watch enough of Rangers to know if he should be sacked or not. But if you're looking at the results and what he must've been told to do, which was give us some perceived success. If that is to overturn Celtic and you're not doing it then you're going to be under pressure aren't you?"
After Stuart Pearce chipped in with his thoughts, former Crystal Palace owner Jordan posed another big question.
He said: “What is the expectation? Celtic are a better side right now. And they’ve got seemingly more economic resources. So you go and get a guy who was a No. 2 and then spent five minutes in a job at Queens Park Rangers, in the Championship, and you put him in a job.
"What is it precisely you expect him to do? And Celtic bring back a guy in Brendan Rodgers who created significant input into Celtic, winning virtually everything, and then went to the Premier League and won the FA Cup with Leicester City.
“Who do you think he is? Harry Potter with his wands? He doesn’t have better players or the managerial experience.
"It has to be a project otherwise what was the point in bringing Beale in? He was always going to be learning on the job because he’s not an established manager. You push the envelope."
