‘A little embarrassed’ – Chris Sutton brands Michael Beale ‘touchy’ and why Rangers fans should be ‘worried’

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has continued his war of words with Michael Beale, accusing the Rangers manager of being “touchy” and suggesting supporters of the club should be a little bit “worried”.

Beale labelled the pundit a “comedy act” without naming Sutton, referring to “the worst ever player to play for Chelsea, that is why I won’t mention his name because I try to forget him.” He claimed the pundit brings the game “back down to the gutter” when speaking about Scottish football.

Sutton hit back on Twitter with a reference to Pedro Caixinha before mentioning Beale’s critique in another tweet. And now the former Premier League winner with Blackburn Rovers has dedicated his Daily Record column to the Rangers manager’s comments and a further rebuttal.

In it is he suggested the narrow win over Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup “must be the reason for a certain Rangers manager amusingly getting his knickers in a twist over me asking a perfectly valid question”, accusing Beale of being “a bit touchy”.

"I was going to hit back with a pop at his playing career,” Sutton wrote. “But I had a Google and it turned out I couldn’t find anything about it… Listen, a certain manager – sorry, Beale – is entitled to his opinion. But so am I. It’s my job. The great thing about football is people love talking about it and pundits are there to spark debate or take part in it.

“And if simply talking about a major moment in last week’s game gets under his skin then goodness knows how he’s going to cope long term in the Rangers job. You aren’t going to survive long in Glasgow if you have skin thinner than cheap toilet roll.”

‘Innocuous comments’

Sutton explained he is “constantly flying the flag for the Scottish game because, for all its faults, I still love it and have never hidden the fact”. He also issued his concerns regarding Beale and Rangers with Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final around the corner.

Rangers manager Michael Beale has been accused of being "touchy" by Chris Sutton. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

“There’s no doubt there will be Rangers fans delighted he’s came out swinging but if I was them I’d be more worried as well as a little embarrassed,” he said. “Does he not have more important things to contend with right now? Like the Viaplay Cup Final next Sunday?

“I think Beale has done a good job since he arrived at Rangers. He’s added a bit of backbone to the side and given them a bit more cutting edge. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but there have been promising performances and solid results, even if a couple have been slightly fortunate.

“But if you are getting all bent out of shape over a couple of innocuous comments when you are winning, what the heck is going to happen if they lose a few games? What will he be like if Rangers lose at Hampden next week? There’s already been some strange comments, like the Postecoglou lucky man stuff, and now there’s this outburst over absolutely nothing. Goodness knows what will happen when the serious heat is on. Beale can point the finger at ‘comic acts’ but losing the plot this early should be no laughing matter for Rangers supporters.”