Michael Beale gives Tom Lawrence Rangers injury update - full Q+A

Here is everything he had to say.

Do you have any thoughts on who you will utilise for this game with the League Cup final coming up?

No, I just think you play the game that’s in front of you. Obviously, we’ve got a week’s preparation into that with the game being Saturday then Sunday is a lot of time. I prefer us to have a strong rhythm going in that game if I’m honest.

Given the pitch is that something you have to think about?

The pitch is difficult. I think the advantage is with the team that train on it every single day. Generally, the teams with the artificial surface have good home forms. It’s a tough place to go. We’ve got reasonable results there in the past but we know they’re riding high. I think David’s done a fantastic job, they’re fourth in the league and will be full of confidence but we can’t be in stronger form we’re in now ourselves.

Do you have an injury update?

It’s a mixed bag this week. John Lundstram’s touch and go, we had a slight issue with Connor last week so we gave him the rest in the game, he was there if we needed him. Nico Raskin had some issues after the game, Ryan Jack’s got a little bit. There’s no one else coming back right now so we’ll see how we go after training tomorrow. It’s all a little bit up in the air I would say in terms of selection right now but we go there with a strong squad regardless with who’s available.

Is there an optimum number you want to work with in the squad next season?

Ideally, as a rule of thumb, if you had 10 outfield players you’d want another 10 so two for each position. You’d want an extra striker and an extra goalie so three goalies and maybe one young one and three number 9s. That gives you a rough guide. We’ve had one or two players that have had injury problems so you’re carrying a slightly larger number. In the summer with the contract situation and just with the window opening whether you’re in contract or out, it gives me a chance to maybe get that to where I want it. I think we’ve got quite an inflated squad but not everybody’s been fit in the last few weeks. We’ve just been running with 18 to give you an example.

Does that give people a chance to still work their way into your thoughts?

The lovely thing with us at the moment is that we have a third of the season to go, everything’s to play for so we’re in a good place compared to where we were maybe a couple of months ago. Our squad looks stronger, our results look stronger and the trophies are there still to be won. I think people’s futures are there to be decided as well.

READ MORE: Rangers still have clear issues despite superb results run - Four Lads

You mentioned Tom Lawrence being one of four players on a billboard during your Rangers TV interview, what will he add when he comes back and how is he doing?

I’ll elaborate on that comment because when you have 30 players, they’re like your sons and when you name four, 26 could be upset but the reality is I was using an analogy. I was asked a question how do I see this team playing? You can only play with the players that you have and so I think we’ve got certain types of players in our club that the football that we play will be deemed suitable for them. If we talk about Tom, Tom’s a player that I’ve seen come through at Man United as a young boy. I’ve seen him go on to be an international and play very well down in the Championship. He came into the club and I thought in the early part of the season he looked like a fantastic signing and he was playing to a really strong level. Unfortunately, he’s suffered a long-term injury since then but when he comes back he’s part of this squad moving forward. I think he’s very similar to Malik Tillman, he can play in the final third or he can play from midfield breaking out. He brings international experience and he had a fantastic grounding at Man United as a young player which I saw first-hand. I’m excited to work with him when he finally returns to our squad.

Any news on his situation?

There’s no imminent return for him in terms of returning to playing. We’re hopeful that he’ll return to training in a few weeks. He’s had a minor setback, it’s a delicate one. We’ve been away to see specialists but there’s no exact timeline on it. It’s a matter of him getting out on the grass and starting his rehab and seeing how he feels. He was a long way along with his rehab when we had a minor setback.

What sort of test do Livingston pose away from home?

An extremely difficult one. Obviously, they know the surface. I like going there because we take a great number of fans there and the fans are close to the pitch. I think they make an impact on the game. We know that David will have his team fired up. It’s a squad funny enough, going away and coming back to Scotland, the backbone of this squad, I’ve worked with a lot. The goalkeeper, Shamal (George) I worked with at Liverpool, Morgan Boyes was a young player at centre-half coming through the academy also. Stephen Kelly was a boy I had a lot of affection and thoughts towards his future while he was here. I think he’s been a good player for Livingston this year. And Joel Nouble was my striker at Chelsea many, many years ago at Chelsea under 9s, 10s, 12s and 13s. So, I know Joel and his family very well. There are some familiar faces there. It’s important we got there and put on a really strong away performance. Our last away performance in the league was away to Hearts and it was our best performance to date, so I’m looking for something around that, certainly out of possession.

Going back to Malik Tillman’s goal last weekend and what followed. In days after there’s been a lot of debate on whether it was the right or wrong thing to do by giving Partick Thistle the goal back. Seems to be split in Rangers support, has that surprised you?

No, because I think if you’re in the stadium at the time that it happens live, you’re unaware of everything. What I have is a very unique position that I was close to the pitch. I could speak to the players and could confer with our bench which obviously had the camera there as well. It was the right decision to make, it was right for football, it was right for that game, it was right for Malik as well. I think you can see clearly Kemar and Antonio’s reaction when the situation happened. Also, when you speak to Malik at the time, he’s aware as well. We should put that to bed now. It was the right thing to do. It was the right thing for Scottish football as well in general of that cup competition. Unfortunately in the hours after that game, Ian McCall lost his job and obviously, if it had been through that reason I wouldn’t want to have been sat here today discussing that. It was a difficult moment but it was the right decision to make. I don’t think there’s any blame apportioned to anybody. It was a big misunderstanding and we move on.

There were suggestions had it been a Celtic game it would’ve turned the fans against you. Does the importance of the game play on your mind with these matters?

This is a route that in this country we go down all the time. Come on, let’s not go down that. It was the right thing to do in that moment to happen. It was the right and fair thing, let’s not go down that road. The decision was made for the right reasons.

How is Malik feeling now after the challenge?

That was the only thing that I did miss in the whole situation. I didn’t realise that the boy had caught him as bad. That led to the situation because that was why he was down and he doesn’t see the ball being played out of the pitch. He’s fine. There was a lot of emotion in and around after the game but when you see what happened in the video, it’s how we said it.

How pleased are you with Nico Raskin and how is he settling in?

It was a fantastic assist from Nico. It was his first start for us but also his first start for a long period of time. I thought he played particularly well. He showed a lot of aggression in his game in terms of his pressing. He showed a lot of quality as well. It was a nice first impression for the home fans and it was nice for him to get an assist. I was absolutely delighted for Antonio Colak scoring the goal because he’s had a tough time as well. I said after the game that I thought I’d maybe made one or two too many changes in that game. You’ve only got to listen to me there about Nico making his first start and Antonio scoring. Overall, we’re pleased to get into the next round. We have a home draw as well in the quarter-finals which is important.

More time on the training pitch to embed your philosophy with no midweek games?

There’s a huge amount of competition right now, which is why I was a bit surprised by the first half performance last week. Fair play to Partick I thought they took part in a really good cup tie that had a bit of everything. Controversy, interesting goals, missed penalties and everything you’d want in a cup tie. But I was expecting a stronger performance from us. I think that the boys need to earn their shirt in training as much as they do on matchdays as well. It had interesting goals and missed penalties and everything you'd want in a cup tie, but I was expecting a stronger performance from us. The boys need to earn their shirts in training as much as they do in matchdays as well.

Is it realistic for Rangers to still win the title or would you concede it's unlikely at this stage?

If you look at probability, it's low because the games are running out and there is only so many games left. We are in very good form and Celtic are also in very good form but their form has run longer than ours so you'd say it is outstanding form. What I would say is that momentum changes things in football. All we can do is keep doing our job and hope the momentum changes. If it doesn't we still have to win games for Rangers and build our team stronger for the cup competitions and what's to come. We can't take our foot off from it which is why I was a little bit annoyed at the weekend's performance.

Are you accepting that Morelos and Kent are leaving and if not what is the situation?

The talks are ongoing. The clubs know my feeling on it. The players and their representatives are talking. I think the way this club ends the season will determine everything for more than just those players. There's a lot to play for at this moment. We know the emotions in this city based on where you finish and whether you hold a trophy above your head between now and the end of the season. I think that has a big part to play in terms of the makeup of our squad next year. Certainly, any comments I have made recently are not to suggest I'm less confident, if anything, I'm more confident today.

The talks are recent?

The talks have been ongoing all of the time. What I try to do is give them room to breathe a little bit. We have had to win every game that's in front of us both in the league and the cup competitions and we have a cup final coming up. We have a big away game at the weekend. Now is not the time for me to be giving any ultimatums. We have to focus on what's in front of us and if we do well it makes everything easier.

It's more encouraging then?

Well, I think they are playing better now. If the team is winning and everyone is playing well, everything feels nice in the world. We know that it can change in 90 minutes so it's important we keep focused on the games.

You mentioned Raskin and Jack, what's their injury situation?

Nico felt a bit of fatigue after the game so we haven't taken any risks with him. He's not returned to training just yet. He will return tomorrow. With John Lundstram I will have to take a view of where he is at. Ryan Jack had a slight problem after the game which is not ideal if I'm honest. Since I came back into the club we've had to play with no fit centre-backs and I'm learning to take a deep breath and trust whatever team I put out to play at the weekend.

Were you surprised to see Ian McCall get the sack?

I was actually because I thought his team played ever so well on the day and put in a stronger performance than some of the teams in the SPFL coming to Ibrox. I did warn the players of that, they did have good experience in their ranks of guys who had come to play at Ibrox and been in our league. I was surprised. It was an interesting day on Sunday. I haven't had many days like that in football. I felt quite flat coming away from the stadium because a lot had happened and then I heard about Ian's situation. I thought 'wow, how much can happen in one day in football.' It is what it is. An interesting day and some parts of it were not so nice.