Rangers manager Michael Beale is reportedly battling to save his job after a poor start to the season and a significant update has now emerged regarding his future.
Is Michael Beale under pressure at Rangers?
The Gers went into the 2023/24 campaign with fresh hopes that they could take Celtic closer to the finish line in the Scottish Premiership title race, as well as potentially making it into the Champions League group stages.
Instead, their season has got off to a disappointing start, with a 5-1 thrashing away to PSV Eindhoven seeing Beale's side knocked out of Europe in fairly embarrassing circumstances, and a 1-0 loss at home to the Hoops already leaves them four points adrift of their biggest rivals, not to mention sitting fourth in the table behind both Motherwell and St Mirren.
These below-par results have heaped pressure on the manager, with reports claiming that he was on the brink of an Ibrox exit with Graham Potter name-checked as a possible successor as the club look to ensure they don't fall too far adrift in the title race in the coming weeks and months.
The international break arguably came at a good time for Beale, allowing his players to head off and represent their countries, taking him out of the firing line in the process. He appears to be under pressure, and those high up at the club may well be considering their options, with Chris Wilder another name who has been linked with potentially taking over from Beale.
Will Michael Beale be sacked by Rangers?
Speaking on The Rangers Review [via Rangers News], however, Rangers reporter Chris Jack shared what he's heard on Beale, claiming that he is set to stay on as boss for the time being, as he is given time to prove his worth at Ibrox:
"Every rumour that has done the rounds in terms of the manager’s situation has been knocked down by the club over the last 2, 3, 4 days even. I know there’s been speculation and the infamous ‘I’ve had a WhatsApp’ therefore it must be true.
"The social media stuff, folk shouldn’t be reading too much into it. In terms of his situation, sources at the club have knocked it down over the weekend and it’s business as usual."
It is refreshing to see Rangers showing some patience with Beale, considering how easily managers are fired in the modern game, but there is no doubt that big improvements are needed as soon as his side return to action this weekend.
First up is a trip to St Johnstone in the league on Saturday lunchtime, in a game where you'd expect three points are a must for the Gers, and failure to win there could really crank up the heat on the 43-year-old – something he may not be surprised about at this point.
Rangers might not be without options if Beale does ultimately end up losing his job in the near future, given the size of the club – John Eustace is believed to another candidate – and the current boss may know that he is on thin ice, with drastic improvements required, both in terms of displays and results.
