Michael Beale out to silence Rangers grumbles as boss adamant Aberdeen clash just the ticket to lift the mood

Michael Beale watched Rangers and Aberdeen going at it last season when the talk was about the Ibrox manager being under pressure.

Almost a year on and the chat remains but the seat is certainly not as comfortable. Beale was in the stands with the fans when the heat was on predecessor Gio van Bronckhorst – but his side managed to see off the Dons in a 4-1 win. The current boss admitted it’s a different ball game when you are in the hot seat but he’s hoping a similar result can lighten some of the mood around Ibrox right now.

Gers have won four games on the spin but some of the grumbles remain. A feisty clash with old foes Aberdeen cannot be taken lightly but Beale knows it could be the ideal chance to get some of the fans back on board. The manager doesn’t need to be told about the bitter rivalry between the clubs and he said: “I always said I wanted to come back for a game. It’s a bit like the games with Celtic. It’s a game that’s watched worldwide and I always think: ‘I’d like to go to that game’.

“It’s not quite the same in the dugout, I promise you. Listen, I had been away probably ten or eleven months and the Rangers fixtures always clashed with Aston Villa’s or QPR’s and the club had constantly been inviting back or at least the people inside it had and when my game got moved to the Friday for Sky that was the one week I could do it and also come back and sort some personal things out.

“It was nice at that time. I thought the team played extremely well. That was one of the more open Aberdeen-Rangers games I can remember, and most goals scored.”

Beale got a crash course in the history of this fixture when he landed alongside Steven Gerrard five years ago. An Alfredo Morelos red card and a last minute Aberdeen