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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Matthew Fulton

Michael Beale 'obsessed' with Rangers as former striker reveals text that sparked Ibrox arrival hype

Michael Beale is set for a 'special' season at Rangers due to the fact he is 'obsessed' with the club and football in general.

That is the view of former Ibrox striker Jermain Defoe who worked under the Englishman when he was first team coach in Glasgow, often credited for being the brains behind Steven Gerrard's operation with the Light Blues. Beale has tasted defeat just once so far in his tenure, losing the Viaplay Cup final against rampant Celtic, with a lot of weight now being put on the Scottish Cup semi-final clash next month.

Nine points remains the difference in the league with Ange Postecoglou's men showing no signs of stopping and the former Tottenham Hotspur hitman believes the full effect of Beale's plan won't be felt until next season. By then, however, their city rivals could have secured yet another domestic Treble.

READ MORE: Rangers coach 'headbutts' Celtic women's boss branding him 'little rat' in explosive derby scenes

The ex-England international believes there is a 'special' season to come and that he found out Beale was ditching QPR when he got a funny text telling him about needing the famous Ibrox suit.

He said: “The job Mick’s done so far has been really good. He’s a top coach but he’s the boss now. Mick has been coaching for about 20 years all over the world. Tactically he’s amazing. I learned so much from Mick, even at my age with all my experience in the game I was still able to learn a lot from Mick. I still speak to him now.

“The players love him. Every training session was good. He’s really clever, loves his football. He’s obsessed. It will be interesting to see how the boys do next season.

“It’s an amazing group with some fantastic players. I’m really looking forward to next season because I believe with a full pre-season going into the league next year I believe it will be a special season for the club.

“Of course (I hoped he’d get the job). I actually messaged him at that time to say, ‘What’s happening, are you going to get the job or what?’

“He was still at QPR then and I know he enjoyed his time there. But I knew his family loved it up here. So he messaged me back and said, ‘JD, I’m going to have to go back to the gym to get into that suit!’

“He meant because of the tradition that the manager wears a suit so he was like, ‘I’m going to have to get running to get in that suit!’ He was so excited to come back - and how can you not be? It’s an amazing club.”

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