Rangers boss Michael Beale has claimed that attacking duo Abdallah Sima and Kemar Roofe will return the side for the League Cup visit of Livingston.
Speaking after the narrow 1-0 Premiership win over Motherwell, the Ibrox manager was fielding questions on his style of play.
The Gers manager has already stated that he wanted to play with the “handbrake off,” remarks that have hung over him as Rangers stutter from one domestic game to the next.
When asked about a perceived lack of attacking identity, with Michael Beale going to three at the back following Rabbi Matondo’s injury and ending up with a back five and two defensive midfielders against the Steelmen, the questions appeared to hit a sore spot.
Michael Beale: Abdallah Sima and Kemar Roofe to play against Livingston
To his credit, the Rangers manager slammed his faltering stars after the game, claiming his team was miles behind the pace from the start.
In response to questions about his tactics and approach, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard argued that a lack of attacking options, specifically Abdallah Sima and Kemar Roofe, pushed his hand.
The Ibrox manager believes that both players on the bench did not start the game owing to “niggles,” but admits that the team “needs” them against Livingston.
“I’ve just sat here and said that I want to play better football,” Beale replied.
“The teams I’ve coached have played better football than today, so I’m sitting here being honest.”
“(Abdallah) Sima and (Kemar) Roofe have niggles coming into today’s game, and we need them for Wednesday.”
“So the reality is we had on the pitch what we had on it and we had to do certain things to get the result today because we weren’t very good.”
With Celtic out of the League Cup, failure to win this trophy might mean the end of Michael Beale’s reign at Rangers, as the manager’s summer renovation is not going as anticipated.
Only goalkeeper Jack Butland can be considered a genuine success from the summer’s signings, and Rangers have so far lacked coherence and identity.
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