Pundit Frank McAvennie believes Rangers shouldn’t trust Michael Beale.
Beale was announced as the new Rangers manager last month following the sacking of Giovanni van Bronckhorst just months after leading the Ibrox giants to the Europa League final.
He was replaced by the 42-year-old, who left Queens Park Rangers after previously turning down a move to Wolves having said to have been in advanced talks at Molineux.
Beale discussed his future at QPR saying he would remain at the club due to “integrity” and “loyalty”, only to arrive at Ibrox a month later.
It wasn’t a good first impression for the former Gers coach, who returned to take the Ibrox hotseat after previously working under Steven Gerrard, with McAvennie telling Football Insider that he doesn’t trust him.
He said: “I do not trust the guy.
“That is the first thing I would do, not trust him. Good coaches do not make good managers.
“From what I hear, he is one of the best coaches out there. But as a manager, you have got all the weight of the world on your shoulders. This is his first managerial job. He was in the door 15 minutes at QPR.
“If he does not like pressure, he has gone to the wrong place.”
TIF Thoughts on McAvennie’s comments…
It’s a damning start to life back at Ibrox for the Englishman, who returns amid a cauldron of fire due to his previous claims made at QPR.
As a coach, he was extremely successful under Gerrard as Rangers won their first SPFL title since their return to the top flight, with Beale following the Liverpool legend south of the border to Aston Villa before being named boss in west London this summer as Gerrard’s Villa career fell away.
As McAvennie said, he must now switch from coach to manager with players that he once had a close relationship with and lay down the law to get the Gers back into shape, with the club sitting nine points behind Celtic, amid suffering the worst Champions League group stage campaign in the tournament’s history.
It’s a tall order for Beale to turn Rangers’ fortunes around, but while his comments at his former club could be seen as controversial, it’s what he achieves at Ibrox that will affect the fans’ opinions of him the most. Meanwhile, we’re sure those at Rangers will take anything said by a former Celtic player with a pinch of salt.