Michael Beale on board backing, Rangers expectations and his 'men'

In the space of ten weeks, Beale has added nine signings to his squad and transformed a side that underachieved and underperformed last term into one which he hopes will deliver immediate results and, ultimately, sustained success at Ibrox.

Significant sums have been spent on Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo, while the signing of Jack Butland was a statement of intent and the deals for the likes of Dujon Sterling and Jose Cifuentes have added strength and depth in key areas.

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This has been Beale's window and this is now Beale's team. It is one that has been built in his name and his image and it is the Ibrox boss that will win or lose, live or die, by the decisions that have been made this summer.

"No, my era started in December when I came in, I don’t want to back off from that," Beale said on the eve of the opening fixture of his first full term in charge. "We had some really good performances and results in the 29 games, and two or three really disappointing days.

"This squad now is about setting the club up for the future. You want to set the club up - and that’s anyone who works for it - to make it stronger and better.

"I think the contract situation with these players, and the age and level in coming in, the squad looks really healthy at the moment. If you look at it on paper, the squad obviously has a big ambition and we’ll have to go one game at a time.

"In terms of the board, I think they liked the plan. If the plan wasn’t a good plan I don’t think the backing would be there for any manager.

"So you have to sit with the board, you have to understand each other and where the club wants to go, and I think this summer we saw an opportunity to recruit some players we think can go quite a long way with us."

There was a sense that Beale was operating with one arm behind his back when he returned to Ibrox late last year and replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst as boss. He had to take his share of the blame for the Hampden defeats to Celtic but the Premiership title was already gone by the time he arrived.

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Some of those that have been recruited were not available during the January window. Since March, and certainly following the departure of Ross Wilson, Beale has been a driving force in terms of recruitment.

He has had the backing of John Bennett and James Bisgrove at boardroom level and John Park and his first team staff at Auchenhowie as players have been scouted and signed. His own efforts in terms of meeting and greeting targets have paid off.

The window started with the departure of stalwarts of the squad and heroes of 55. Their quality on the park has been replaced but it remains to be seen if those that have taken their spots can fill the void as leaders in the changing room.

"Maybe," Beale said when asked if he had to balance off the loss of the likes of Allan McGregor and Scott Arfield with his moves in the market. "Maybe for some not knowing everything is quite a good thing as well. Each personality is different.

"There’s a lot of thought gone into Leon Balogun coming back into the squad and how he carries himself. I think Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence are also two ‘men’ – the old fashioned type. Men in the changing room.

"But Cyriel Dessers has played in the Conference League Final and was top scorer in the Eredivisie. He’s a leader - right down the middle of the pitch.

"Sam Lammers has come in with huge experience as well. They are coming in to push this team forward. Jack Butland comes in and what hasn’t he seen in his career already at 30?

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"It’s an interesting time for the club and a chance for new faces to become stalwarts."

The latest arrival, Jose Cifuentes, will get his first taste of Scottish football this evening after being included in the squad for the Premiership opener away to Kilmarnock. As Beale joked, the game is slightly different in Ayrshire than it is in Los Angeles.

It will take time for Cifuentes to become accustomed to Old Firm life but that process is already well underway for the majority of those that have put pen-to-paper at Ibrox so far this summer. The money has been spent and now it is time to see what the yield will be on the investment.

Beale said: "I have sat with these boys and I know their motivation to be here. Ultimately I don’t play, I give the plan on how we are going to play.

"The boys have to go and perform and we give them real ownership and autonomy to go on the pitch and perform within the ideas that we give them. So I am looking forward to seeing them.

"The players were really excited about coming to live here in Glasgow and play for our club and I am really excited for Lammers, Dessers, Sima, Danilo, Cifuentes, Dowell, all these boys to fulfil their aims here at Rangers.

"I am in a really privileged position. Sometimes as a manager you seem to be firefighting a lot but there is a real calmness in the building."

Alongside that sense of peace, there is an excitement around Auchenhowie. Beale described the build-up to the first weekend of the league season like a cup final as managers and players finally get down to business and supporters are overcome with excitement and expectation.

This time last summer, Rangers were heading into the new term on the back of their heartache in Seville and Scottish Cup triumph under Van Bronckhorst's guidance. The weeks and months that followed were anything but positive.

The lessons of another wretched season must be learned. Beale won't focus too much on it, though, as he looks forwards, onwards and upwards for the domestic and European challenges that await.

"It is a new group so it is important that you don’t speak in the past too much," Beale said. "You can use that as an experience but let’s not put too much weight on these new boys.

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"Let them find out for themselves, let them bring their quality. They have good pedigree, all the players that have come in.

"We can learn and take something but you want these new guys to go in and make their own mark. We will only be talking forward, one game at a time.

"All we can do each week is make sure we are in a good place and pick the right team to go out there and give it everything we can. Anything that happens outside of our building is going to happen regardless so we have to look after ourselves."