Michael Beale explains 'rough week' for Rangers, reveals Todd Cantwell fitness scare and why John Lundstram won't travel to Servette

Rangers manager Michael Beale watches on as his team overcame Livingston 4-0 at Ibrox.

Manager Michael Beale says he is “positive rather than pessimistic” after Rangers ended a “rough” week with a 4-0 win over Livingston at Ibrox.

The Glasgow outfit recorded their first Premiership victory of the season following last week’s dismal 1-0 loss over Kilmarnock that led to scathing criticism of Beale and his players. Sam Lammers, Danilo, Abdallah Sima and Kieran Dowell all scored their maiden goals for the club but despite the convincing scoreline, there were parts of the match against the Lions when Rangers were far from fluent, with some supporters letting their frustration known. Beale admitted there was “tension” in the stadium.

“The game was in three parts,” said Beale. “The first part we started well and scored a really good first goal. Todd [Cantwell] did great linking and it was nice for Sam to get the goal. I thought [Jose] Cifuentes and Souttar were the pick of the players. Cifuentes had a fantastic [full] debut but after the goal gets called off we slowed down and got stuffy. We spoke about that but didn’t improve till the subs came on. Part of our play was wasteful when we had good moments after our approach to the final third.

"There was tension in the stadium. We had some good moments when we should have killed things odd and didn’t. Sima and [fellow sub] Rabbi took us up the pitch and by the end of the day we got back to where we started in the game. We improved and I’m pleased that those three then got their first goals too. So it was a mixed bag after a rough week behind the scenes. Players going into the first team in the league in a season when we are under more than a little bit of pressure. The new guys rode every emotion. That’s why at the end of the week I’ll be positive rather than pessimistic. Dujon [Sterling] had his debut, Jose was excellent and Jack [Butland] has his first clean sheet so the week has ended better than it started.”

One player who took the brunt of the Rangers support’s ire was forward Cyriel Dessers, who had a difficult afternoon in attack. He was replaced after 70 minutes but not before some missed chances, a poor first touch that almost led to a Livingston equaliser and some complaints from fans. Regardless, Beale backed the Nigerian to flourish. “You can see he’s come off not having a pre-season and missed the last two months of last season,” explained Beale. “He scored midweek and was heavily involved in the first goal. We want a lot from our players. His goal will do him a world of good and we’re tinkering things. Cyriel will be fine.”

Beale left defender Connor Goldson and midfielder Ryan Jack out of the matchday and while both will be available for the second leg of their Champions League qualifier against Servette in Geneva on Tuesday, John Lundstram will not travel to Switzerland. Cantwell also had to pass a late fitness test to face Livingston.

"Todd had a fitness test to play,” said Beale. “He was touch and go after taking a knock to his thigh in the game in midweek. He was desperate to play. He got really tired before coming off. The second goal came at the right time. We’ve got good strength in depth. Tom Lawrence is working away in the background but is only a ten-and-15 minute man at the moment. It’s finding the right balance. I wanted consistency today so two changes were important.

“Everyone is fine for Tuesday. John Lundstram won’t travel because of a family personal thing so there was a reason I left Jakco out, to make sure he was available. Connor was never going to play three games in a week. He’s trained three times with the team and played twice so that’s a big pat on the back for the physios. It was in our plan not to play him three games in a week."