Michael Beale lands first Premiership ‘Manager of the Month’ award as Rangers boss issues full injury latest

Rangers boss Michael Beale has scooped his first Scottish Premiership ‘Manager of the Month’ for December - just one month since taking charge of the club.

The Englishman has made an immediate impact since returning to Ibrox as Giovanni van bronckhorst’s successor in late November, bolstering competitiveness within the squad and guiding his side to four wins in four league matches over the festive period.

A thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Hibernian on home soil was followed by yet further late drama against Aberdeen at Pittodrie as Scott Arfield came off the bench to score twice deep into stoppage stoppage to seal another 3-2 win and maintain their title bid.

The Light Blues then faced a long journey to Dingwall to face Ross County, with midfielder John Lundstram scoring the only goal of the match to secure maximum points before rounding off the month with a comfortable 3-0 win over Motherwell.

Speaking as he picked up the award, Beale said: “I’m pleased to be receiving this award on behalf of the full management team. Returning to the club in late November was a big moment for me personally and I am very pleased with the start we have made as a group.

“The players deserve a lot of credit for our results in December as it’s them who go on the pitch and play. We won four games and scored a good number of goals. We also used 20 players over the four games so that goes to show it was a real squad effort.

“We are now fully focused and looking ahead to an exciting January in the League and two cup competitions. We are determined to make a strong start to 2023.”

Rangers return to domestic action against Dundee United at Tannadice on Sunday and Beale offered his latest squad update in his pre-match press conference, including news on forgotten midfielder Nnamdi Ofoborh whose heart condition is being monitored closely by specialist.

He said: “For us, as a staff arriving, we had a lot of injuries and a heavy schedule to contend with. We are now at the other side of that and in a positive place to decide who we need moving forward.

“Since (Ben) Davies and (Connor) Goldson have been back together we look a lot stronger. Borna (Barisic) has come back in and performed well. In the last month, I’ve seen a young boy in Adam Devine showcase himself as well. (Leon) King is also doing well so all of a sudden that looks a lot more positive.

“We’ve rotated the midfielders a lot because we’ve needed to. John (Lundstram) has been playing and training with injections, so I’ve had to ease off and on with him because of the pain he’s been experiencing but he’s a tough boy and will be fit for this weekend. Glen (Kamara) and (Ryan) Jack have also had issues, so everybody seems in a healthier place now.

“Alfredo, to his credit, has managed to play the last two or three games when other players maybe wouldn’t have. All I can go of is his energy in the building. His situation is not ideal if people want to question his form but I see a different boy inside. I’m probably the only person other than him who knows what he’s going through physically at the minute to get himself fit.

“What I can see is everyone’s committed. As we get people back, the form will come. They need a kick in terms of re-discovering some belief and I thought we performed well (against Celtic). We were disappointed not to win the game.

“(Filip) Helander is a fantastic player who has sadly been unable to show it with injuries recently. When he was fully fit, I thought he was excellent for the club. I don’t think anyone wants to be injured but I get on really well with him. At this moment in time, he has to focus on his rehab and at 29, he still has a good future ahead of him. Let’s hope this is the last injury he has because he is in here every day working hard.

“Tom Lawrence was away seeing a specialist again yesterday to get an idea of what comes next. He’s had a little bit of discomfort and I know we said he would be available towards the end of this month. That might now be in jeopardy. When players come back from rehab, some player might not feel so good. We just need to wait on an update for this one.

“Nnamdi’s (Ofoborh) situation is still with the specialist. As you can imagine with that sort of situation, the staff here aren’t experts. It’s soemthing you need to get a real opinion on. He has been able to do some physical activity but the case and duty we’ve got in this one is really, really big. I’m up to speed with it all but there’s a bit of privacy in this case.”