Rangers boss Michael Beale vows to change players and 're-energise' squad with younger blood
- Planet Sport writer
- 20 January 2023
Rangers manager Michael Beale revealed he will be looking to freshen up his squad as he plans to bring in 'young players'.
Rangers find themselves nine-points adrift of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, meaning their hopes of silverware this season are best served in the cup.
This Saturday, Beale's men take on St Johnstone in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup as the new manager looks to continue his unbeaten run.
Ahead of the match, the 42-year-old admitted he hopes to add fresh blood to his squad.
He said: "I am going to change players in this squad over time. I'm going to change the look of Rangers to move forward.
"We are going to re-energise us with young players coming in and we've got a lot of uncertainty surrounding some of our players."
Beale also claimed he could not be happier with his goalkeepers as he vowed to rotate the position again.
Jon McLaughlin came in for Allan McGregor after Rangers' extra-time win over Aberdeen but he was beaten to a corner inside his six-yard box as Chris Stokes headed Kilmarnock into an early lead on Wednesday.
Rangers recovered to win 3-2 at Rugby Park and McGregor is set to return for Saturday's Scottish Cup tie with St Johnstone.
"Maybe if we hadn't played 120 minutes at the weekend we might have stuck but it was the right thing to do," Beale said of his decision to change goalkeepers.
"I think everyone should expect to see Allan again at the weekend and then after that we'll assess from there.
"It's clear that at the end of the season we need to either bring a goalie in or make sure we make a decision on either Jon or Robby (McCrorie) to be number one. I have to give all the players in house an opportunity as well."
He added: "At the moment, everyone is pushing in the right direction. I could not be more pleased with the three goalkeepers I've got right now if I'm honest.
"Obviously, Robby's not fit but he was in Scotland's last squad as third choice. Obviously, Craig (Gordon) has got injured so Robby is really keen to play. Whenever Jon plays he does well for us."
McGregor turns 41 later this month and Beale expects he will be making a major decision about his future soon.
"Well, we've not had that conversation but I'm sure Allan is of an age where he's thinking about coming nearer to the end," he said.
"He's obviously out of contract as well. I think Allan played well at the weekend. I think there's a noise around our goalkeeper situation but I wasn't here in the first half of the season when those things happened.
"Since I've been here, I've been quite happy with the goalkeepers."
