Summary After a series of poor results, Michael Beale may be facing the possibility of being sacked. Two potential replacements with Premier League experience have been lined up. One has had great success in the English Football League.
Glasgow Rangers won just four of their opening nine matches before the international break, and it’s clear that Michael Beale is starting to feel the pressure already.
With this in mind, could there be a potential change at the helm in the coming weeks? Indeed, the club have been linked with a few replacements lately.
Will Michael Beale be sacked by Rangers?
Following the 7-3 aggregate loss to PSV Eindhoven and the underwhelming defeat to Celtic at Ibrox, Beale had the chance to make a major statement of intent before the first international break of the season.
Instead, the Gers flopped badly and this has led to a variety of bosses being linked with a potential move to the club.
According to Football Transfers, Graham Potter was one of the names mentioned, while Chris Wilder, the former Sheffield United and Watford boss, is also a candidate for the role.
The 55-year-old was sacked by the Hornets in May and has been out of work since, meaning that he would be available to take over without any compensation fee having to be paid.
What has Chris Wilder won as a manager?
The Englishman managed a few lower-league sides before taking over the Sheffield United job back in 2016 and this was the role that saw his managerial career really take off.
Indeed, he averaged a point per game total of 1.59, while leading the Blades to the Premier League during the 2018/19 season, finishing second in the Championship.
During their first season back in the top flight for 12 years, Wilder led the club to a wonderful ninth-place finish, but they suffered from second-season syndrome and were relegated the following campaign, although Wilder had left by then.
Stints at Middlesbrough and Watford have since followed but the question is, would he succeed at Rangers?
What formation does Chris Wilder use?
During his long managerial career, Wilder has only really had success with Sheffield United and Northampton Town, winning League One and League Two respectively. That, however, was a great deal of time ago in 2015/16 and 16/17.
It's the manager's system, though, that may well cause problems. He typically utilises a 3-5-2 formation and may find it hard to lead the Gers to trophies given their previous style.
BBC journalist Phil McNulty once dubbed him “top class”, but the reality is, Wilder may find the Ibrox hot seat too hot to handle should he actually find himself in the role. After all, the expectations in previous roles have been far less than what he'd walk into with the Scottish giants.
James Tavernier and Borna Barisic may well thrive in the aforementioned 3-5-2 formation, using their attacking abilities well to create plenty of chances from the wide areas, but under Beale, the club have tended to switch between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 at times.
This suggests yet another change in the system should Wilder take the job and the Gers simply don’t have the time to bed in another tactical change.
The former Boro boss may have exceeded expectations during his time in Sheffield, but that was a long time ago and he is hardly the marquee name that the supporters crave.
With ties against St Johnstone and Real Betis to come following the break, Beale is under immense pressure to secure two crucial wins.
Dropping points in both matches could soon turn Ibrox into a toxic environment, one which Wilder would arguably do little to improve.