SHORTLY after he had lauded his Rangers players for their performance in the 3-0 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen at Ibrox yesterday afternoon, Michael Beale attempted to put the result into its proper perspective.
“You have to take into consideration where Leverkusen are in their preparations,” he said. “They’re further behind us.”
It was an important point. The German visitors might have competed in the Champions League group stages this season and may be playing in the Europa League knockout rounds next year.
But the Bundesliga outfit do not have a competitive fixture until January 22. They looked very much like a team easing their way back after a lengthy lay-off. It was perhaps no great surprise they were, despite the calibre of player they fielded, comfortably beaten by opponents who return to action next week.
Beale has spent long enough in Glasgow to realise that results like the one which Rangers recorded can easily lead to euphoria, excitement and unrealistic expectations among supporters. He wasted no time, then, pointing out their opponents were some way from their best.
As pleased as he was with the win over Xabi Alonso’s side, he realises there is a long way to go and an awful lot of work to be done.
The Englishman, who received a warm reception as he stepped into the dugout for the first time since replacing Giovanni van Bronckhorst, stated there had been “red flags” which he will address with his coaching staff in the days ahead despite the comfortable final scoreline.
He deployed a 4-3-3 formation when his charges were out of possession and switched to a 4-3-1-2 – which saw Ryan Kent move inside and behind twin strikers Rabbi Matonda and Antonio Colak in the first-half and Scott Wright do the same when Fashion Sakala and Alfredo Morelos were in attack in the second – when they had the ball.
But no member of the front three particularly distinguished themselves during the course of the 90 minutes.
Morelos, whose showings this term have been subdued to say the least, was possibly the best of them. The Colombian striker made some good runs, produced a few nice touches and won a penalty, which his captain James Tavernier failed to convert, during his time on the park.
His bright cameo appearance was a positive for Beale. But the new manager must get Colak, Matondo, Kent, Sakala and Wright to adapt to his tactics and gel quickly.
Leon King once again dovetailed nicely with James Sands in the middle of the rearguard and academy graduate Adam Devine did well outside the centre half pairing at left back in the absence of both Borna Barisic and Ridvan Yilmaz. The clean sheet they kept by no means flattered them. Allan McGregor had one save of note to make and Jon McLaughlin was hardly tested.
Still, can such a young and inexperienced back line avoid conceding goals when the cinch Premiership resumes? They desperately need Ben Davies and Connor Goldson to return soon to ensure there are no more costly slip-ups in the league and further ground is not lost on leaders Celtic.
All that said, there was much in the display against Leverkusen for Beale to be encouraged by. Not least the showing of Malik Tillman.
Tillman, the Bayern Munich loanee and United States internationalist, has enjoyed some memorable moments since arriving in Scotland in the summer. Setting up Antonio Colak for the winner in the Champions League play-off match against PSV Eindhoven back in August was certainly a highlight.
He has, though, frustrated and delighted fans in equal measure. His inconsistency can be partially attributed to his age. He is, it is easy to forget, still just 20. He has also often been played out of position. It is, though, not unreasonable to expect far more from him.
On Saturday he was used slightly deeper on the right side of the three man midfield by his new manager and it seemed to be very much to his liking. He took both of his first-half goals well and was a deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award after the final whistle.
Beale compared the German-born kid to Michael Ballack during his post-match press conference. He feels the youngster possesses the same ability to time his runs into his box from deep and score goals as the former Leverkusen, Bayern and Chelsea man and is hopeful the new role will bring out the best in him.
“We’re going to give him the freedom to run out of that midfield and into the positions he was in today,” he said. “We have to let Malik go and make the game and make the team.”
The return to action of Alex Lowry, who replaced Sakala midway through the second-half, delighted the home support. The playmaker did not disappoint. He went close to netting after Morelos had cut the ball back to him and threaded a few clever passes into dangerous areas himself.
Can he build on his run-out and feature regularly in the coming weeks and months? There is an opportunity for him to do so with Beale taking over from Van Bronckhorst and players being sidelined or out of form. His directness, pace and creativity could be invaluable. Those are qualities which have been lacking in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.
Scott Arfield, who rounded off the win with a late strike, Steven Davis, Ryan Jack, Glen Kamara, John Lundstram, James Tavernier are all well known to Beale from his time working under Steven Gerrard and he is sure to turn to them as he attempts to get his reign off to a strong start.
But he certainly, despite the below par opposition, did that on his debut as Rangers manager against Bayer Leverkusen yesterday.
