Michael Beale has taken aim at Celtic hero Chris Sutton insisting he is a "comedy act" and the "worst ever player to play for Chelsea".
The fierce comments come after Sutton questioned Beale's sportsmanship during last weekend's Scottish Cup clash against Partick Thistle.
The Rangers boss allowed the Jags to score uncontested after Malik Tillman misunderstood the situation and robbed the visitors of possession before scoring when they were set to return possession.
Pundits, fans and managers were quick to weigh in on the situation after the match and Sutton was no different.
He asked on radio: “Here’s a question, just a yes or no answer. Do you think Michael Beale would have done that had they been playing Celtic?”
The comment clearly did not sit well with Beale who has now taken aim at Sutton for his hypothetical question.
“Listen, there are pundits that are comedy acts,” Beale said. “There are ex-players who are comedy acts.
“I don’t even want to answer that question because they are comedy acts and they are there to create intrigue. They don’t speak about the betterment of the game, they don’t help our game at all. All they do is bring it back down to the gutter.
“There are a lot of good things we can speak about in our game at the moment, at other clubs as much as in my club. I don’t know why people… Why is that where they go?
“At the end of the day, we don’t know, do we? If I had allowed that goal to stand and we had gone through in the cup like that, what would that have done for Malik? What would that have said about me and our club?
“And also, it seems like because Partick Thistle said it, that Ian was getting the sack anyway. Then you guys would be questioning me that I took a goal from someone that lost his job.
“I think that day worked out about as well as it could have done when that situation happened. You see when people do that, I think we need to wise up in this country.
“There are people out there creating intrigue for intrigue reasons and those people, in my opinion, we need to mute them and quickly.”
Asked about the supporter's reaction to the incident and whether it will have an impact on his own approval rating, Beale went on to add: “I think the history will determine that. I don’t think anything I do right in this second will determine that. I think history will determine that.
“Emotions run high, they like one player and they don’t like another, one scores one week and isn’t liked the next. It is the role of the fan.
“Growing up, I was a fan of Chelsea. So there is one pundit around here who is the worst ever player to play for Chelsea. That is why I won’t mention his name because I try to forget him.”
