Rangers chief might be wanting to have a word with Michael Beale after that dog’s dinner of a strategy - Keith Jackson

Let's just say he’s in a rather significant spot of bother now.

In fact, the only thing that can keep Michael Beale’s credibility intact as Rangers manager is the prospect of a clear run at lifting the League Cup and securing the first silverware of the season. And even then, it might not be quite enough unless Beale begins to show signs that he is leading his team in the right direction and with a clear and cohesive strategy.

Because the performance his side put on at Ibrox yesterday lunchtime, as Celtic staggered across the city, horribly depleted and desperately down on their luck, appeared to be as carefully thought out and coordinated as a dog’s dinner. And the buck for the 1-0 defeat must most definitely stop at Beale’s office door, despite his insistence afterwards his players were to blame for lacking quality in the final third of the pitch.

That’s the first problem right there. Beale has been backed heavily throughout the summer to put this team together and it would not seem unreasonable at all should chairman John Bennett call him in for a quiet word now the season has been placed on pause for the international break.

Bennett could hardly have been expected to provide his manager with more help during a whirlwind of a transfer window during which new signings were arriving on an almost weekly – sometimes daily – basis. And the man in charge of the club’s command centre signed it all off in the absolute belief Beale’s big vision was meticulously planned out.

Of course, there was always the prospect of some early teething troubles along the way given the scale of the changes the Londoner wished to implement. And Bennett will cling to the hope it may yet all fall perfectly into place. But the woeful manner