Todd Cantwell poser and Gio praise - Michael Beale's Rangers Q+A

Here is everything he had to say.

Where are you transfer-wise?

It has progressed well in terms of where it is at. As soon as there is news we will let everyone know. We are eager to let everyone know. It will take a little bit of time. My bit is done, if that makes sense, and now it is over to other people to finalise things. As far as I can see, I am really pleased with the way two or three things are going. They are heading in the right direction. I didn’t think anyone would be in before this game and I didn’t want to disrupt the group either. The group is quite settled at the moment. Hopefully in the next week or so we will see one or two things.

Are these either or deals or is there a potential to have three new bodies through the door?

I see you picked a number there. Listen, it could be up to three or four, it could be one or two. They have got to be the right people. There have been meetings going on. I have not had much time off, if that makes sense, because I have been busy with Ross and everybody else. I am pleased with where things are, it is positive. These things are never as fast as the fans want. The window opens and they want the guy there the moment the window opens. It doesn’t always work like that but I am positive.

Where are you with Todd Cantwell?

He is a player with a lot of ability and there will be a lot of interest in him. He is a player I like a lot, as I said last week. Out of respect, I can’t really say much more than that. I think you are not far off the track with what you are all insinuating.

How difficult is it to block out supporters’ eagerness in order to make the right signing?

Listen, if I don’t think they are right for us longer term, and that longer-term is for us to fight for trophies, to compete well in Europe and do well, then I don’t want anyone here short term. That is probably ruling out anyone that will be coming on loan for six months. Like I said previously, I want people that I can build around. There is going to be a change in the summer of some faces. I think everybody is aware of that. Whoever comes in, I need to feel that I can build with them for the next two or three years, I want them to come in and be really core players for the club.

Are you pushing to get deals down now so they have six months to adapt?

For sure. I think we are a club that has done very well with cross borders in the past. Did we have eight players starting the Europa League final that were free transfers? We have been very good at picking up the right people in the market and when we have spent money, I feel we have done well with both managers prior to me with players coming in. There is an element of all of that going on. I am really pleased as the manager in terms of listening to what I am hearing from the board and looking at the players we have identified, me having an impact on that and what I want and my feelings. I am really pleased we are all aligned and now it is just a matter of talking about football but then the personal stuff and between the two clubs, that is not my job. My job is to talk about football and I am really pleased with the way things are going with the targets we have.

Some teams across the league are targeting Australian and Asian markets, Rangers have a British core, is that something you prefer?

I just want good players. Wherever they come from, they have got to be right and fit the squad. The key thing for me when it comes to recruitment is what are you recruiting a player for? Does he understand it? Are you trying to change a player or are you bringing him in to execute in your team what he does very well elsewhere? Is he a player for now or a player for the future? Ultimately, are they going to come in and is the feeling in the group going to be good? Every coach wants to move quickly so if you are bringing a player into your environment you think is going to blend with the players you have got, you know where he is going to sit at lunchtime, he is going to have a rapport with team mates, that helps build the team quickly. All those things in the past the club has done pretty well at and it is important I make sure I make right choices now. It’s important I make sure I make good choices now, not just for this six months but for the next two or three years. If you go back to when Steven first recruited, some of those players are still in the club. That almost gets condemned. I would say that was very, very good recruitment at the time.

Is the lack of domestic cup success when you were last here still something that sticks with you?

Yes but I have to say I think Gio did absolutely fantastic in the cups, all of the cups. He did really well. The last two visits to Hampden have been positive for Rangers and obviously, he did ever so well in the Europa League. Fair credit to Gio and his staff for that. Every Rangers manager has to do well in every competition. I’m aware of that. This is my first cup game at the weekend, I’m a very lucky man that it’s a semi-final.

How important is it this Rangers side make a winning habit at Hampden?

You go there and there are 35,000 Rangers fans. Over this week we have three games – one at neutral venue and two away games. It’s a real tough week for us, a big week in our season. And we’ll have in excess of 55,000 or 60,000 Rangers fans visiting those games. Our support is absolutely fantastic so it doesn’t always feel like a neutral venue. Even when we play away, at Dundee United last week, it was the Rangers fans I could hear. So our backing is good, that helps, and it’s important we keep moving forward. We’ve scored quite a few goals since I came in. I’m not massive on xG, I’ve said that before, but even our nerds in the office tell me that’s in a good place as well.

Will Aberdeen captain Anthony Stewart’s comments about Alfredo Morelos being a lesser striker than Antonio Colak fire him up?

That’s an interesting opinion. It’s a personal opinion. I don’t know if Alfredo needs any more motivation than playing in a final. To get to a final by playing in the semi-final, I think that’s Alfredo’s motivation at the moment. I didn’t see that comment. I’d hate to comment on it without seeing it actually come from his mouth so I’ll maybe comment on that another time.

READ MORE: Michael Beale merits total trust in Rangers' recruitment drive

How is the squad fitness-wise?

Good. We had a couple of players miss the early part of the week because they’ve been playing with one or two things. We had one or two who played at the weekend again without being ideal. But as every week goes by, we’re getting stronger. John Souttar has trained for a week and I’m really pleased with his progress. He’s ahead of schedule. This game will come too soon and probably the Astro at Killie will come too soon, but I’m expecting him to be back in the squad for the St Johnstone cup game, for example. That’s really good news. It’s a tough week and we’re going to need everybody. We have the midweek game late in the evening and then we travel up to Perth. It’s an exciting week and a big week. What I’ve learned in my time at Rangers is that there doesn’t seem to be a week that’s not a big one.

How is Antonio Colak?

Colak’s had a slight problem. He’ll be touch and go for this game but should be back for the other two if he doesn’t make this one. Kemar Roofe is fit and raring to go. That’s a real positive for us because I think he’s a real high quality player. We have to remind ourselves he was our top goalscorer when we won the league and has been really key whenever he has been fit. Let’s hope now we see a run of Kemar becoming fit and healthy over a longer period of time.

(Image: NQ)

How much can a League Cup win propel you?

In this month we don’t want to be any further behind in the league. We want to be in a final, we want to be in the next round of the Scottish Cup and we want to recruit more players to take me towards where I want to go and my vision of where this team needs to be. I want to re-energise the team in terms of age. Re-energise it in terms of energy as well and I want to go on some new journeys. I’ve come back and there are some new players in the building like Malik, Antonio, Ridvan, John Souttar and Tom Lawrence. I’ve not been able to work with all those guys just yet, only Malik. I want to bring in some exciting new players. It’s important I have players in the building who want to be here and are excited. They will re-energise the group and create a bit of heat for positions.

How important is it to win this trophy given it may be the last season for some?

There are very few teams around the world that can win. Who, generally at the start of the season, believe they can win the league. Maybe two or three teams in every league are like that. We’re fortunate in that we are a team in this county that when the season starts believe we can win. While you’re here you have to take every opportunity to win in games like this at the weekend. If you look in England, in the Championship and around Europe, how many managers at the start of each season actually believe they can win. For some teams in the Premier League winning might be getting into Europe. Here, you have to go on and win trophies. I’m aware of that and that’s what I’m here to try and do. I’m hoping I can settle my own score in the League Cup. It’s not pressure, it’s expectation. And if you don’t have any expectations then you’re probably not working at the level you’d like to.

Do you think the experience of winning the Scottish Cup last season will be vital?

The last two visits to Hampden were much better than the ones before. I’ve had some good and bad days there with Rangers. We are playing an opponent that knows us really well, we played them four or five games ago. They will feel they did well in that game. I was Ibrox when they played Aberdeen and Rangers were clearly the better team. Both games have had goals and clearly for the neutral they will be hoping that continues at the weekend. We’re only focused on winning this one first and when we get to the final whoever joins us there that’ll be another challenge for us.

What’s it like working with Fashion Sakala?

He’s the nicest man in football, Fashion. I’m sure you’ve had the chance to talk with him and see that big smile. He is happy with life and I think you have to meet Fashion with the same energy because he’s a bubbly character. He always works his socks off, he always gives you everything he’s got and then if you can help him with one or two bits of advice. If you go back a couple of weeks to the Old Firm. The first half he tried ever so hard in his tackling and his pressing but didn’t do so well in possession. In the second half, though, he was a completely different player and he put in a similar performance at Dundee United too. It was a fantastic goal he scored there with the way he took it on his right foot then his left. In the moment he’s in good form and while he’s in good form we need to do our best to keep him there. When we recruited him a couple of years ago, we recruited a fantastic young man. I think he’s now fulfilling the potential he showed in Belgium before coming here.

How important is the balance between intensity and switching off in the next week?

You can only play one game at a time and I’m going to have to use the whole squad over these three games, that’s fair to say. So by the end of the week, we’ll be able to make another judgement about where this Rangers group and me and my management team are. I’m looking forward to that. In the space of the next 10 days, the state of my face will probably tell you the state of this team.

READ MORE: Michael Beale's key Rangers prediction for Alex Lowry

Could Alex Lowry be sent out on loan?

No, it’s not in the plans. At this moment in time, it’s not our plan for anyone who’s in the first-team squad to leave the building. Alex obviously started against Motherwell. He did okay, he’d like to have done better but I thought for a young player going in he did fine, we won the game 3-0 so no harm done. He had a slight calf issue after that game which meant he missed the last squad. He was back in training just before the Dundee United game so I took the opportunity for him to go play in the B-team game, where he scored a hat-trick. It’s a completely different level and I’d expect him to go there and be dominant. But that’s the reason why you haven’t seen him since that Motherwell game.

Do you plan on rotating the goalkeepers and where does that leave Robbie McCrorie?

Yeah definitely so with Robby getting an opportunity between now and the end of the season. He’s got an ankle ligament injury so he’s been out for two weeks and will be out for another two or three. He’s not been in contention unfortunately but Robby is a guy I’ve got a lot of faith in. He’s a young goalkeeper that needs an opportunity. He’s shown he can play in our top division on loan and do well. He’s broken into the Scottish team as well. You go off what you see in training and I have no bias to anyone here. You earn the shirt in training. I felt it was the right game for Jon to go in against United because I expected the game to go a certain way. It didn’t but we got the clean sheet with Jon in goal so no harm done. Once Robbie is fit, the plan before the end of the season is to to give him an opportunity to showcase that he can be the No.1 here for Rangers going forward as well.

Can you give us an update on Ridvan and Tom Lawrence?

Ridvan will be another three to four weeks before he plays. Tom Lawrence at the moment is doing isolated rehab. He had a slight discomfort, nothing major, but we’re just seeing how he goes with the rehab. So he’s probably been delayed. If all goes to plan, you’ll see Ianis Hagi in the St Johnstone home game at the end of the month.

Some games, it’s taken a half time team talk to get your team fired up in the second half, is that a concern?

Well, Dundee United weren’t going to walk out the way and led us kick it into the goal. I would say that over the game we wore them down and got what we deserved. Always at half-time when you go back in it’s your job to tweak a couple of things and get into one or two individuals. That’s a part of the game that I like. Fair credit to the players for responding. I felt the game was very comfortable at United. I’ve been there a few times when it’s been very difficult and I’ve not enjoyed the days out there. We pretty much controlled the game in the first half but had to make sure we went on to win it in the second half. For seven or eight minutes we were very ruthless and scored two goals. I’ve asked the boys to play at different speeds and to control the tempo and the ball more and to make less passing errors. And I was pleased with that. You have to remind yourself that the group wasn’t overly confident a month ago so slowly does it.

Any news on whether you plan on signing James Sands and Malik Tillman on permanent deals?

No news on that yet. Sandsy has had a bit of a knock, he was listed on the bench at Dundee United but once we got to the stadium he didn’t feel right to play. He’s not returned to training yet so is a massive doubt for the weekend, he has a muscle issue. He’s had to play predominantly as a centre back, maybe more than we expected. I’d like to give him an opportunity to play him a little bit more in his favoured position before we make any decision on that one. Malik is showing at this time that he’s one of the stronger players in the league. It’s fair to say I’m working really hard with him on some areas of his game and he’s responding well. He’s a key part of our team. Both situations are ongoing and there’s no rush on those as the deadline is later in the summer for that.

Have you learned anything from your last semi-final defeat to Aberdeen in 2018?

We dominated the game and lost it to a set-play. We’re a much more mature team now. Set-plays will still be important and have been since I came back into the club. That was a game with a lot of regret for different reasons we never had a forward that was fit and in a good place when we played the game. I remember it well as we dominated it but didn’t win in the boxes. And when you play big games you have to win in both boxes. That will be key in the semi-final when the performance is secondary to the result.

Can a win on Sunday supercharge the season?

Every day we’re working really hard behind the scenes. We trained really hard today and our training now will be minimal for the next seven to eight days. What we try to do is not change for anyone. We have a set style of play that we adapt a little bit but we don’t change for our opponent. So there won’t be any surprises for Jim or Aberdeen. They will bring their best and have nothing to lose but neither do we. We have everything to gain. We’ve been very comfortable in three of the last four games getting clean sheets and that’s a good sign. We’ve been scoring goals and I think we can be even more ruthless and take even more of the chances we create. If we perform at our truest level it will give us an opportunity to have a nice day out. If we don’t then the game could get sticky as Aberdeen will bring their best version and on their day they’re a good side.