The Michael Beale Rangers run that could make or break him with Perth parallels, Dons deja vu and golden Hampden chance

Rangers fans continue to go over the issues that resulted in them losing the first Old Firm derby of the season to an understrength Celtic side at Ibrox Stadium.

Tactics, title hopes and Michael Beale’s future have all been hotly debated. The fact the Scottish Premiership took a two-week break, starting at full-time on Sunday, means there is even more time to analyse the damaging 90 minutes. But Record Sport exclusively revealed Rangers chairman and the Ibrox board will stick by the Englishman for now.

That means at some point the supporters will have to move on and hope that Beale and his players can somehow get a reaction and that this newly-assembled Light Blues side does have potential and it’s just about clicking together. The are course plenty who feel there is no hope and would be happy to make a change now in the hope of salvaging something. That won’t happen before the next fixture but if matters get worse then it could spell the end for Beale.

Here, Record Sport looks at the five games Beale has in September to turn things around with the change of booking a trip to Hampden among them.

This is the game where we will learn so much. After two weeks stewing on that derby defeat, will the players come out fighting and show a reaction or will they serve up more of the same of what has been witnessed in the early part of the season? If it’s the latter then there are real issues. The Perth side won at home against the Light Blues for the first time in 12 years last season to push Giovanni van Bronckhorst closer to the axe. There was no way back from that loss and Beale can’t afford a similar outcome against a side who have already held Celtic to a goalless draw on their own patch which ensures Rangers aren’t in an