Obsessed Beale doubles down on lucky Ange claims

Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Rangers vs Celtic - Ibrox, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - January 2, 2023 Rangers manager Michael Beale with Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Micky Beale has doubled down on his claim that Ange Postecoglou is a lucky manager- adding that it wasn’t a slight on the Celtic boss.

In any context lucky applies fortune, usually undeserved but Beale has his own context to add and justify his claim.

Normally managers resist discussing their counterparts, it is a very precarious job with enough critics on the outside without turning on ‘one of your own’.

Passing on some bland compliments is usually the standard line in public among managers even if they may hold strong opinions in private.

Beale appears to be revelling in the media attention, over the last week he has given before and after interviews for the matches against Aberdeen and Kilmarnock and also previewed tonight’s match at St Johnstone.

BBC Scotland were involved in an Ibrox media stand off for seven years but given a sit down interview with the current manager it seems that both sides were keen to discuss Celtic and Postecoglou.

Listening in to an exclusive interview discussing Postecoglou given to Radio Scotland, Football Scotland reports the Ibrox boss saying:

He’s a very good coach. I’ve known of him for a long time. Firstly he’s a very good man on a personal level as well. He’s done a fantastic job but in this country there are two coaches who are more lucky than the others. I’m one of them but certainly he is as well.

The spending power they have had is big. In the last 12 months they’ve probably spent more than Steven Gerrard did in three and a half years so I think that is a fact. It’s not a slight on the work he has done because you can spend money and get it wrong.

He’s not done that. Nothing motivated it other than we are going into a transfer window and you’re being asked every day about how much money your club will spend. Well clearly, not as much as our rivals who have shown in every window since I’ve been in Scotland that they spend the most in the country.

It wasn’t a slight on Ange. He’s a good coach and comes across as a fantastic guy. I like the way his team plays and it’s important we build a team to compete and go past him.

In Beale’s last Scottish Cup tie as assistant to Steven Gerrard his side lost to St Johnstone, tonight the two teams face each other again with another clash between the sides next Saturday.

Postecoglou’s spending has largely been funded by selling Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer, a situation that Giovanni van Bronckhorst enjoyed in the summer after selling Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo.

While Postecoglou brought in cut price signings like Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Aaron Mooy, Beale has inherited a squad that spent £10m on Ben Davies, Rabbi Matondo and Ridvan Yilmav with virtually no return to date.

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