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Michael Beale told his Rangers players to “hang in there” after defeat to Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final ended his 14-match unbeaten run as manager.
A goal from Alfredo Morelos in the 64th minute dragged the Ibrox side back into the game after Kyogo Furuhashi’s brace on either side of half-time.
Beale admitted there were no excuses for not handing in his first piece of silverware as a Rangers coach.
He was then asked what he had told his team when he assembled them on the Hampden touchline for an impromptu meeting back in time.
“Hold on,” he replied bluntly. ‘It’s not nice, but, on the day, we don’t get to the game until the second half in my opinion, so there are no qualms.
Rangers boss Michael Beale gathered his players for an impromptu meeting
‘That day, we lost the game and it’s not pretty, so hang in there, get on board.
‘You have to look in the mirror every day and that is your biggest opponent.
‘Are you being honest with that person? Are we working hard enough? Is the work we are doing good enough?
‘These are the days in which we will be judged.
‘We have to win the other games, but these days is when judgment day comes and we get it. We assume it.
‘So that was what we talked about in that brief moment there.
‘He didn’t want anyone to make false opinions in his mind. We lost the game.’
Ryan Kent hit the base of the post with a low kick early in the second half, and Fashion Sakala failed to convert the loose ball, as the Scottish Cup holders looked to make up for losing a goal from Kyogo Furuhashi before half time .
The Japan international’s second close range shot gave Beale’s team a mountain to climb, a clinical shot from Morelos that threatened to spark a comeback that failed to materialize.
The wait continues for Rangers captain James Tavernier to lift the Scottish League Cup
‘We started the game very badly. We never found any rhythm in the first half,” Beale said.
“We were always in the game, but we never played with the rhythm that we wanted, that we can do. There are no complaints with the overall result.
“I thought early in the second half, we got better, we had a great moment when Ryan hits the post and we should do better with the rebound.”
‘If we score at that point then that’s it, there could be a change of momentum.
“We are down 2-0, but we go and score and show a lot of character and resistance to try to push the game forward. But I expected more, from the team, from myself, from the day, so it’s disappointing.”
Despite intense pressure for extra time following the introduction of January signings Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell, it was Celtic who squandered opportunities to increase the score in the final minutes.
Insisting that it was too big a gamble to start the two new signings after little first-team action, Beale felt his starting XI was the strongest.
But he admitted: ‘We didn’t play at our true level. I’ll have to go back to the staff and players and look at it.
“I don’t want to make a mountain out of today’s performance, because we’ve done well since I’ve come back, that’s the first loss in 15 games, but there have been several games where it took half time, honest conversation to force a team reaction.
‘I think the guys who came in did well and we showed more energy and intensity in the game. Celta was more uncomfortable.
‘But, look, it’s disappointing, we had moments, a moment in the first half when someone makes an excellent block on a cross. They score at those times.
“If Fashion goes 1-0 when Ryan hits the post, then maybe we’re just sitting here and it’s a different game.” But is not. So no excuses, Celtic won the game and congratulations to them.
I don’t want to take anything away from Celtic. They are clearly a very good team, they have very good players and I think they played well today.
“So as much as I go back and evaluate my own team, the resistance from the opponents was great.”
While a nine-point margin over Celtic makes a title bid unlikely, Beale challenged his team to make the rest of the season count.
With the Scottish Cup quarter-final against Raith Rovers looming, the manager vows to use the remainder of the campaign to make some big decisions about the way forward.
“Renovate is a better word than rebuild,” he said. It is also important that we recruit and craft one or two futures. But I think we will come back stronger. So I don’t think we should get too carried away.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s two goals from close range sealed Celtic’s 2–1 victory either side of half time.
Morelos reduced the deficit with half an hour to play, but it was not enough for Rangers in the day
“We lost today and it’s the end of the world in today’s terms. But tomorrow we wake up and the job is just as big as it was whether we win this game or not.
It is important that we bite the gum shield and take our medicine. It doesn’t really know right now, but when I look at the team, with the promise of Malik Tillman and with Raskin and Cantwell, I have enough to be super optimistic about the future.
‘Is it going to be easy? Of course it isn’t. But would everything be rosy if we had won this cup final? No, we would still have had that job to do.
“It’s my job to do that tomorrow and I don’t mind being judged for it.”