Rangers boss Michael Beale has had 'face to face' talks with potential signings

Rangers manager Michael Beale has revealed that he has had talks with two or three potential signings and that they are “very keen” to move to Ibrox.

The new manager has had a busy spell of matches since succeeding Giovanni van Bronckhorst, leading his team to victory in four league matches before Monday’s draw against Celtic.

Beale, who was awarded the Premiership Manager of the Month award for November, has now had some time to focus on recruitment and says he has personally met with potential targets in the last few days.

The Englishman said that he feels personal discussions with the players are important to ensure he gets the right character, and to be clear on how the potential signings will fit into his plans.

“We’ve spoken to two or three players,” Beale said. “Our phone’s not stopped really because there’s a lot of players interested in coming here.

“I’ve got to make sure they’re the right ones.

“I’m a little bit fussy. I want to sit down in front of a player and I want to look in his eyes. It’s all right doing something over Zoom but my schedule’s been pretty packed out up until that game last Monday.

“This week’s been spent meeting people face to face and getting a feel for them, telling them what I want and not the other way around in terms of the role I want them to play.

“When I’m recruiting, it’s for specific roles. It’s not just about a collection of players coming in, I want a player to come in and do a very specific job for us in the squad.

“I think that’s what we need right now. I said when I came in that I didn’t think it was as broken as some were making out. The only thing that can prove that is performances on the pitch and I think three or four of the right additions can pull everything together.”

The Rangers boss, who is preparing for his side’s trip to play Dundee United on Sunday, says he’ll pick up recruitment after that match before turning his attention to the Viaplay Cup semi-finals. He says anyone coming in will be a long-term signing and not a quick fix until the end of the season.

“I hope to be moving soon after this weekend’s game in terms of bringing people in,” he said.

“The two or three I have spoken to are very keen to come here.

“None of the three players I am speaking to are loan deals. Anyone coming in will be an important player for the next two or three seasons.”