Michael Beale needs a 'spine' to help Rangers challenge Celtic

Michael Beale is looking to insert a "spine" of longevity into his Rangers squad which can help wrestle the Premiership title back from Celtic.

The Ibrox club ended the season trophy-less with their Old Firm rivals clinching the domestic treble to make it five trophies out of six in the last two campaigns.

Beale, who took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst last November, brought in Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin during the January transfer window and so far this summer he has added 25-year-old midfielder Kieran Dowell from Norwich and 23-year-old right-back Dujon Sterling from Chelsea, with goalkeeper Jack Butland due to join from Crystal Palace in July.

Asked how Rangers bridge the gap to Celtic next season, the former QPR boss told Sky Sports Scotland: "We start how we're ending with our style being very clear, our energy being very strong on the pitch in terms of our pressing and the bits out of possession.

"Make sure that we're really hard to beat then allow our quality to come through.

"We'll look to recruit a spine that's enabled to stay at Rangers for the next three to five years to build on.

"You've seen the start of that with Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell coming in and Kieran Dowell. We'll look to add to that with a little bit of experience but certainly in terms of quality in the final third.

"You'll be able to tell by my face at the start of pre-season whether I've been successful in getting everyone that I want but either way we'll come back into pre-season next year with a few new ideas that I've wanted to implement.

"We need to go and recruit a certain type of player for that. We'll come back stronger.

"Our league form in the last 24 games would say if we can get to that stage where we are now, we'll be in the mix.

"It'll be about getting to the March international break where we need to be and then going for it."

Beale, former assistant coach to Steven Gerrard at Rangers, started last season as boss of QPR before returning to Ibrox to take over the hot seat.

Assessing a first year in management, he said: "It's probably everything I wished it to be in terms of being a natural transition from being an assistant for many years.

"My desire was to become a manager. Two different leagues in one season, a lot of drama in between but I've had a lot of experience in that.

"The size of the clubs are different. I loved my time at Queens Park Rangers with Les Ferdinand and the staff there. It was really important to me before coming back to Rangers.

"The opportunity to come here, I didn't think would come anywhere as near as quickly as it did. This is a juggernaut of a club and everything that comes with it but I've been pleased with my staff and how they've handled it.

"I've been pleased with the support I've had from the club and everybody around the backroom team.

"There's a tinge of disappointment because I felt we could have done better. We've won a lot of games but in the real key moments we've tended to shoot ourselves in the foot.

"That will be in the forefront of my mind going for the recruitment this summer.

"It's a really important summer for me, the football club, the fans and ultimately for the players in the squad as well."

Beale is also looking to the Rangers academy for players to play their part on and off the park.

He is revamping his squad this summer in a bid to turn the tables on domestic treble winners Celtic, but saleable assets are in short supply.

Rangers sold youth product Nathan Patterson to Everton in January 2022 for a reported £12million.

Midfielder Joe Aribo, brought from Charlton in 2019, was sold to Southampton last summer for a reported fee of £6million while defender and fellow Nigeria international Calvin Bassey, recruited from Leicester in 2020, joined Ajax for a fee widely reported as around £20million.

He said: "Everyone just wants you to win. I need to win and put some stability into the club, some harmony, some players in it which I feel can grow for the next two or three years here.

"That there's a value on their head as well if they do well that we can trade and start again in terms of bringing other players in.

"If we look at the last 12 to 14 months, Nathan Patterson left the building, (as did) Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey for the outlay of which was probably under £500,000.

"For the finance that we brought in, it was great but it's important you have a conveyor belt behind it.

"It's important the links between me and the academy are really strong to open a pathway.

"We have had a number of academy players on the pitch this year but who's going to stay in?

"Who's going to be a mainstay? Who's going to be a marquee player for Rangers?

"The fans and the outside media will just look every three to five days when you play.

"Win, lose or draw that's how they'll deem success. I need to win. The team need to win. My staff need to win. But we also need to make sure we build a really strong club moving forward."

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