Michael Beale makes huge Allan McGregor claim and explains reasons for rotating goalkeepers

Allan McGregor made two good saves in extra time to keep Rangers ahead against Aberdeen on Sunday.

The veteran shot-stopper, who turns 41 at the end of this month, was reinstated to the Rangers starting XI for Sunday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final victory over Aberdeen at Hampden and made two late key saves in extra time to ensure the Ibrox club progressed to final showdown with Celtic. And while Beale has played Jon McLaughlin in goal for two of his seven matches in charge of the club, he made it clear just how highly he rates McGregor.

“Allan McGregor is the best goalie in Scotland,” stated Beale in the wake of the triumph over the Dons. “Me and Allan have got an unbelievable trust, built up over a long period of time. He knows that every now and then, I'm going to say to him, 'okay Al, rest up this one and play this one'. But the majority of the time he'll play. In my opinion he is the No 1 goalkeeper in Scotland and I think we are not far off from having that with the other couple that we have in the building. I get 'Allan McGregor, you leave him out', but he's completely up to speed with everything that is going on.

Beale explained why he is happy to rotate his goalkeepers and that McGregor is fully aware of the situation. “He's a really mature man,” continued the Rangers boss. “He thinks about the whole club, the whole team, not just himself, and that's why he's been such a top professional. I thought he showed it again on Sunday. He was a little bit angry he had to do a little bit more than what he would like to have done.

"He's our No 1, but Jon and Robby are two excellent goalkeepers. He'll be a miss, you know, I'll rotate the outfield players, I'll rotate the team. I know there's a lot written about, 'you have to have your No 1'. I think that's a bit old fashioned. The way modern game's going, at different times you look at people and you think they might need a little break and someone else to come back in. That's what I'm paid to do and if I get the majority of those decisions right, I'll stay in a job and if I don't, I won't. I'm a big boy.”