Michael Beale hits back at 'rubbish' said after Rangers win as he provides Kemar Roofe injury update

Rangers manager Michael Beale rounded on the claims made over his team in their streaky win against Motherwell as he reflected on a complexion-changing 4-0 victory against Livingston in the Viaplay Cup quarter-final.

Rangers manager Michael Beale during the Viaplay Cup quarter-final win over Livingston at Ibrox. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

On an evening when the only downside was Kemar Roofe joining the club’s extensive injury list after suffering a groin strain, the Englishman adopted a sharp but not unpleasant tone in his post-match.

Witnessed most pointedly when it was put to him that the success which has set up a semi-final with Hearts from the weekend had altered the mood around the stadium from the weekend - when the Rangers faithful jeered an uncomfortable 1-0 result against a Lanarkshire opponent in contrast universally lauded for their showing.

“I just think we have to win football games,” he said. “It’s four games now, it’s another clean sheet. I don’t know where the rubbish came at the weekend that Motherwell were the better team at the weekend. Look at the stats. But I was right to say we were poor in possession. Tonight we were better and we deserved to win.

“When you ask teams to play three games in seven days, then four in ten, the entertainment energy levels are going to go down. I think for us it’s to just keep winning. Look at the list of players who are out [with Danilo, Todd Cantwell, Nicolas Raskin, Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence all missing]. They are the players who bring guile and style. I thought first half Sam Lammers played well, I thought Abdallah [Sima] was eye-catching.”

Beale will face an anxious wait over the timescale for Roofe’s absence, though he suggested that Kieran Dowell and Raskin might be available for the trip to face St Mirren a week on Sunday. “We will know more tomorrow,” he said of the striker’s groin problem. “To lose Kemar is disappointing and just shows how much strain the team is under at the moment.”

The 43-year-old denied he was showing the strain in his natural ebullience appearing to have been missing in recent media appearances. “Not really it’s just we’re in the middle of a big schedule,” he said. “We came back from the international break hurting a little bit as a team [after the Celtic and PSV defeats], naturally you would. The boys have responded really well.

“It’s important we are really honest with each other and drive standards but also important that we realise that at this moment with the games coming and the players we have out that we continue to look robust and strong as a team. I want to be more free-flowing and expansive and with some of the names we have out they will give us that after the [October] international break hopefully.”