Michael Beale told to take Rangers transfer lesson from Steven Gerrard as 'good footballers' not enough to topple Celtic

Stuart McCall has warned Michael Beale he’ll have to find players as talented as they are tough if he wants to topple Celtic.

The Ibrox boss hopes to bring five new faces this summer as he plots his Rangers rebuild. But former Gers caretaker McCall reckons the only yardstick Beale should be using as he weighs up his targets is if they will make an impact against Ange Postecoglou’s rampant Hoops. The Sheffield United assistant, who won 10 major honours as a player at Ibrox, said: “Realistically, when you’re recruiting for Rangers, you’re not bringing in guys thinking they’ll do the business for games, and I mean no disrespect here, against Livingston, Ross County, etc.

"You’re looking for guys with a mentality strong enough to take on Celtic. There’s a 13-point gap right now but if you were to spin those two league wins Celtic have managed since Michael Beale’s come in, there would only be a point in it. So that shows the importance of these matches and what Rangers do against their direct rivals.

“Not many teams have taken points off Celtic so really it’s down to Rangers to get the results and that’s why the recruitment for next season is huge. It’s not enough just to sign good footballers, Rangers have to sign strong characters too. That’s why I thought it was so important a few years back when Steven Gerrard brought back Allan McGregor and Steven Davis and brought in Jermain Defoe. These weren’t just top players, they were proven winners.

“It’s about finding those men who have got the strength deep down when the going gets tough against Celtic. That’s the key.”

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